Ra Yellow
by Sdrive
Summary: As a freak storm hits Academy Island, the darkness begins to make it's move. Can Hikari fight off the realm of darkness and stay true to the light? Chapter 51, Hikari VS. Ender. Shine bright Hikari!
1. Off to Duelist Academy

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh GX, but I sure wish I did.

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The sun rose over the horizon in Domino City creating a beautiful sky of red and blue. A sky top view of Domino would have showed the city in all its splendor. All the buildings gleaming in the sunlight, waiting for their workers to enter them and begin the day. Since it was a city, there was a good number of cars on the streets, but since it was still early, it was still peaceful.

In one area of the city were the neighborhoods where people lived. And on one specific yellow house, near the end of a street, sat a boy on his red roof. He sat there enjoying his last Domino City sunrise. It was a most spectacular day for him. It was his birthday, and also his last day in Domino. He sat there watching his final sunrise. Once the sun was completely in sky, he got up and jumped down off the roof onto his concrete shed. Then he jumped off that and onto the ground. He gave out a big stretch and walked back into his house.

His parents were still asleep so he made his own breakfast and then ran upstairs for his Duel Monsters deck. He got his deck and then stopped to look at himself in the mirror. His green eyes stared at a boy with messy brown hair and a height of 5' 11". He was wearing an old, navy blue shirt and black jean pants. He ran down stairs to see his little sister at the breakfast table. "Good morning Kokuro," she said smiling.

"Morning Selaya," he said going into the refrigerator and getting a glass of milk. He sat down next to her after rubbing her hair with his hand. She gave him a hug and smiled. She was 13 and Kokuro was 17. She had long pink hair and was wearing sky blue pajama's with clouds on them. She had the same green eyes that Kokuro had.

"How's the birthday boy?" She asked smiling.

"Pretty good," he said smiling back.

"You have to promise to write to me everyday."

"There's no guarantee I'll get in," he said.

"There's no chance that you won't," she said smiling.

"Thanks for your confidence," Kokuro said rubbing his sisters hair again. He finished his milk and got up. "Well, I gotta go see Yamato before I leave. I'll be back soon."

"Remember, the parties at noon."

Kokuro nodded, "How can I forget?" He got up and grabbed his keys and a plastic bag. He left his house and walked the few blocks to Yamato's apartment. He ran up the stairs of the apartment and unlocked the door to Yamato's apartment room. He dropped the bag on the counter and grabbed a pillow from the couch and walked down the hall. He opened the door to Yamato's room and threw the pillow at his friend. "Wake up lazy!"

Yamato shot up from his bed and threw the pillow to the side of his bed. "You are going to die!" Yamato said jumping out of bed, but Kokuro was already down the hall again. Yamato ran through the hall and into his kitchen when he just barely caught a diet Pepsi thrown at his face.

"I'm surprised," Kokuro said smiling with a sly look on his face. "I thought you of all people would be able to enjoy a good sunrise. But no, you were lazy and slept in your bed!"

"Because not all people are crazy and wake up before dawn." Yamato was currently in a state of messy brown hair, worse than Kokuro's, a grey t-shirt, and sweat pants. He came in at about Kokuro's height, and had brown eyes.

"And not all people can say that this is their last time seeing a Domino City sunrise."

"You'll be back next summer." Yamato said taking off the cap to his Pepsi bottle and taking a sip.

"But its my last chance till then. I want to be able to enjoy the last of my time here."

"I'm sure you'll have many good times at the Academy."

"I just wish you could be there with me," Kokuro said looking down slightly. "It'll be lonely without my friends."

"You're the one who said you wanted to go alone. Having second thoughts?"

"I still want to go alone," he said taking a Mountain Dew out of the bag, opening it and taking a sip. "But I'm going to miss you guys, and my parents and my sister."

"I'm sure you'll make new friends. And besides, you and your sister can always write letters back and forth to each other. And you can always keep in touch with us too."

"You're right. I guess I'm worrying for nothing."

"I think you're just over excited and its causing you to think strange."

Kokuro laughed at that, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Yamato took another sip of his Pepsi, "You're still going to die."

"My death will have to wait till next summer."

"I'll keep my anger till then," Yamato said and they both laughed.

Kokuro went through the bag again and pulled out a bag of chips and opened it. "My farewell party," he said.

"Be glad I felt like throwing it for you," Yamato said chuckling.

"Shut up," Kokuro said chuckling as well. He took a few chips then passed the bag to Yamato. "What if I'm not good enough to get in?"

"Don't give me that bull," Yamato said. "You're dueling skills are great. The only thing you should be worried about is the entrance exam."

"We all know I love tests," he said rolling his eyes.

"If you studied..." Yamato began.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" Kokuro said. "Hey, it's Duel Monsters, how hard can it be?"

"It could be pretty hard. In any case, I think your dueling skills will be what get you in. You've participated in tournaments before and come in second."

"Yeah, because you and D. where there keeping me from 1st."

"Remember, its been a while since you went into a tournament. You've been getting ready for this. You've gotten much better."

"Thanks," Kokuro said.

"I have no doubt you'll become the best in the school. But remember, have fun with it. If you get too obsessed with winning then you might not do as well. If you lose, don't lose the lesson."

"Yeah, Duel for Fun. You can count on it." They ate the chips and drank their drinks and then just spent the rest of the time watching TV waiting for D. to arrive. Finally they heard a knock on the door. Kokuro walked over to the door and opened it.

Standing on the other side was a boy his age with black hair and was of Asian decent. He too was about the same height as Kokuro and was also 17. He stood there with a surprised look on his face. "And I thought I was going to beat you here. I'm here early after all," he said.

"I came here about half an hour ago. There should still be some chips left and your diet Coke is in the bag."

"What's up D.?" Yamato called from the living room.

"Same stuff, different day," D. responded. His real name was Domid, but everyone just called him D. for short. Kokuro sat back down on the couch and waited for D. to come in and sit on the chair. They all just sorta sat there for a few minutes. "So, what now?"

"I'm going to hit you," Yamato said.

"Geez! Sorry!"

Kokuro laughed. "This is what I'm going to miss."

"Don't tell me your backing out," D. said.

"No way, but I'll have to write to you all, and you better write back."

"We will," D. responded.

They sat around watching TV, no one saying much. There was nothing really good on so after 10 minutes they turned it off. Kokuro checked his watch and sighed. "Will noon come any sooner?"

"We can just go back to your house if you want." Yamato said. "I do think you should be able to spend some time with your parents and your sister before you leave."

"Yamato has a point," D. said. "They are your family after all."

"Ok, lets go then." Kokuro said getting up. They all grabbed their things and left Yamato's apartment and headed back to Kokuro's house. They got in and saw Kokuro's mom reading a book and his dad watching TV. They looked up and were surprised to see him there.

"You're back early," his mom said.

"We figured that we should be here so I can hang with you guys for a while longer."

"Well that was a thoughtful thing to do," his dad said. They all sat around and talked when a thought came to Kokuro.

"Where's Selaya?"

"I'm up here!" Selaya called down from the top of the steps. She came down in a white shirt and a denim skirt. "You guys are back early." She jumped over the couch and sat down next to Kokuro. "I'm happy you're here. I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too," he said to her. They shared some jokes and before they knew it noon rolled around. "Well, I guess it's time for the party."

"Before we begin," Selaya began. "I have a small gift for you." She handed Kokuro a card. He looked down at it and saw that it was her Spell Absorption Spell Card. It was one of her best cards. "I want you to have it. I bet it will help you at Duelist Academy."

"Are you sure?" Kokuro asked her.

"I've never been surer of anything in my life. Please take it."

Kokuro bent down and hugged her. "Thank you, I'll take good care of it."

They all sat down at the dining room table and had lunch and dessert. It wasn't really a party so much as a going away thing. They all ate and told Kokuro how much they would miss him. Once they were done they all got up and got ready. It was 1:00 now and Kokuro had to be at the docks by 1:30. They all cleared their plates and Kokuro went up to his room once more to do a double check. He had a backpack to carry his personal things in. Plus he had his deck at his side. He grabbed a jacket, and his binder of cards. He ran back down the steps with his bag in hand and his coat over his waist.

"Yamato, D., your jobs are to take care of my sister and help her dueling. Mom, Dad, your jobs are to never stop missing me and to write to me constantly. Selaya, your job is to improve your dueling, and win a tournament by the time I get back."

"I will," Selaya said hugging her brother.

"You can expect nothing more," his mom said.

Yamato and D. nodded and shook his hand. "Stay safe out there man," D. said.

"Remember to just have fun and never doubt yourself," Yamato said.

"Get yourself a girlfriend while you're out there," his dad said chuckling.

"DAD!" Kokuro yelled!

"I'm just joking," his dad said laughing and they all joined in the laughing. Selaya let go of him so that his mom could hug him. His dad walked over to him and patted him on the shoulder, "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," he said. "I'm off to Duelist Academy!" he said pumping his fist in the air. After that, him and his dad walked out the door and got into the small two passenger car. They drove out of the driveway waving. "I'll send the first letter with all the info on the dorm and stuff!" Kokuro called out his window.

"I can't wait to hear from you!" Selaya said waving, and with that they were on their way.

"Son, I want you to know how proud I am of you," his father said.

"Why is that?" Kokuro asked. "You never seemed to be too big a fan of Duel Monsters."

"It's a game for kids like you and your friends, not an old guy like me."

"You're not old."

"I know, but that's besides the point. I'm proud of you because you are going into this with a good attitude. You have always been stern when it comes to something you believe in. Unwilling to let others bring you down when they are trying to get you to do something you don't believe in. You have a good heart, and are a great duelist. You are destined for great things. Some people would look down at this and say that it is a waste of time because you are going to a school that teaches about a card game. But I think otherwise."

"Wow, you really feel that way about Duel Monsters?"

"Yes. Duel Monsters can build great friendships. It's started out pretty big and then got even bigger around the time of Yugi Mouto when he started playing. It is the most popular card game in the world, and has it's own holographic Duel Disk system. Speaking of which, doesn't Duelist Academy have a special kind of Duel Disk for its students?"

"Yeah, I hear it's pretty cool."

"That's good. In any case, I look at Duelist Academy as a way for kids to have fun and make new friends. It's like a summer camp but it goes on for an entire year, and then if the students wish, they can go back the next year. I wouldn't let you go during your high school years. But now that you have graduated, I see no problem with it. The good qualities out weigh the bad. It will be a good experience for you. Just remember, there will be many tough duelists out there who will be in it for the title of best duelist. I want you to do your best too, but don't forget to have fun. What Yamato said was right."

"Thanks, I will."

"I said it earlier, I'll say it again, you are destined for great things."

"You're embarrassing me."

"Don't be embarrassed. You are an excellent duelist, you can only expect good things to happen to you." They rode in silence for a few seconds before his dad spoke again. "And if you do get a girlfriend, try to have her live close by."

"DAD!" Kokuro shouted as his dad laughed at him. They arrived at the docks five minutes later and Kokuro and his dad got out. His dad gave him one final hug and then wished him well. He watched Kokuro as he walked towards the dock with the Duelist Academy sign in front.

Kokuro turned to wave and his dad waved back. He then got into the car and drove off. Kokuro walked towards the boat when a guy in a suite stopped him. "You here for the boat to Duelist Academy for entrance exams?"

"Yes sir," Kokuro responded.

"Head right down that dock and get on board."

"Thank you sir," he said following the mans instructions. He got on the boat and was a bit surprised to see how many people were actually there. "I guess not everyone here is going to make it into the Academy. I can't see the school being this big." He waited for the boat to take off and heard a message saying that due to the limited space some people would have to share room with more than the rooms on the boat were fit to hold and that the boat ride was a day long.

He poked around for a half hour trying to find a room. Most of the rooms he found were already filled way past what they were supposed to hold. He decided he would rather just sleep in the lobby of the boat. It was a decent sized boat and had a few couches and chairs in the lobby. He figured it wasn't the safest place to keep his stuff since there were so many people there so he figured on just keeping his backpack with him at all times. There was a small mini-restaurant where they would be eating but that was mostly it.

He laid down on a couch and soon found himself drifting off into a light sleep aided by the waves of the ocean. He awoke a few hours later to see people going to and fro. He took out a small book with random Duel Monsters facts and began reading it. He packed it as a small study guide, since he wasn't sure exactly what kinds of questions would be on the test. He spent an hour reading and then put the book back in his back pack. He laid back down and soon found himself asleep again.

"_You ready for this Kokuro?"_ _Yamato asked from the other side of the table. _

"_Always ready!" Kokuro responded. There where multiple people around them all cheering for them. It was the last round of the Tournament at the local card shop that they always played at. They drew their cards and looked them over. The duel started off fast. Kokuro got a fast lead on Yamato's Life Points. Suddenly Yamato got out one of his stronger cards and wiped out Kokuro's monsters seriously damaging his Life Points._

"_You always put up a good fight," Yamato said._

"_Thank you," Kokuro said, "Today's the day I finally beat you!" Kokuro managed to stop Yamato's monster from attacking for a while and then got his own strong card out. The two were unfortunately matched at the moment. The next few rounds went rather slow, before Yamato found away past Kokuro's defense. Kokuro pulled a few tricks that set Yamato back but in the end Yamato ended up winning._

"_Good game," Kokuro said putting his cards back together and shaking Yamato's hand. Yamato was awarded a few booster packs for coming in first and Kokuro got some for coming in second. "Get anything good?"_

"_Yeah, a few good cards, you?"_

"_I got one Ultra Rare but the others are all pretty much cards I already have. Doesn't matter, I was in it for the fun of it. The prize is just something minor compared to the challenge of trying to beat you."_

"_You will one day."_

"_Definitely."_

Kokuro woke up and looked around trying to get a feeling for where he was. The lights were all off and the window seemed to be dark. He thought he saw the window bobbing up and down and then the feeling that he was too. It finally clicked that he had fallen asleep again and that it was night time. He couldn't sleep now since he had just woken up. It also didn't help that he was hungry. He got up and realized that he would have to do a dance to get past all the people sleeping on the floor. He figured that they were all people that couldn't get a room on the boat. He walked over to the restaurant only to realize that it was closed for the night.

He sighed but realized that he had some food in his backpack that his mother had packed for him. He dug through it in the dark and pulled out a package of crackers, and a bottle of water. He knew there was more in there but he couldn't see in the dark. So he ate his crackers and drank his water. He figured that he would just have to get up early in the morning to get breakfast before the crowds so that he wouldn't starve.

He re-danced around everyone and got back on the couch. He laid down and wondered about what would happen when he got to the academy. He knew he would have to take his exams but he worried about the written part of it. "I'll be fine," he thought to himself. "I didn't come all this way just to not make it in." With a new found courage aided by sleepiness and minor hunger he was able to fall back asleep with good thoughts in his head.


	2. Entrance Exams

Disclaimer: Not mine, just Kokuro and most of the people he will encounter.

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The rough seas rocked the small boat rather harshly. A sleeping Kokuro was abruptly woken up by falling off the small couch he was on and slamming into the person sleeping underneath him. The kid underneath him squirmed to get up and ended up knocking Kokuro off all together. "What do you think you're..." the kid was cut off as another harsh wave sent him flying into Kokuro knocking both himself and Kokuro down. An announcement then came over the PA system. 

"Duelist Academy students, we are experiencing rough weather. Please stay inside your rooms as we pass through the storm. Thank you for your time."

The kid got off Kokuro and helped him up. "Sorry bout that. I didn't realize it was an accident."

"No problem," Kokuro said rubbing his head. He got back on the couch and held on. After an hour of rough weather the seas finally calmed and the ship stopped rocking. Most of the kids had gotten sea sick but Kokuro was fine. He often enjoyed sailing yet never really had the time to do it. As soon as the restaurant opened he ran in to get his breakfast.He scarfed it down as soon as possible and then went back for seconds. The second time around he actually took time to enjoy it.Leaving the restaurant hewent back to the couch to find that it had been abducted by two kids talking to one another. Sighing hedecided to walk through the ship.

There wasn't much to see since it was a rather small ship. The entire journey took about 20 minutes to get through before he was back in the lobby again. He noticed that his couch was vacant so he decided to take it back. He sat down and took out his deck. He looked through the cards in his deck before putting them back again. He decided now would be a good time to re-read his book. The next half hour was spent reading the book when finally there was another message coming in over the intercom.

"Attention all Duelist Academy first years, we will be docking in 10 minutes. Please meet in the lobby and be prepared to disembark. When you get off the boat, please follow the guides to the academy so that you can be taken to your testing site for your entrance exam. Thank you and good luck."

Kokuro and the others in the lobby all got their stuff together and waited for the boat to dock. Once it was finished being tied up, the doors opened and they were led out onto the island. Kokuro was amazed at how large it was. The island had its own mountains and large grassy areas. There was a large building and then there were other buildings in site as well. The group of students were being led into the largest building. Kokuro was up front and he looked a little nervous, but soon his nervousness was replaced with joy. He was happy he was there and he was ready for any challenge that came up.

He was led to his test site and was told to be seated and to be quiet. He waited for the other students to arrive before the doors closed and the teacher took his place in front of the room. "Hello students, this is the first part of your two part Entrance Exam to get into Duelist Academy. The first part is the written test. You will have to first pass this test before you can go to take the second part of the test, the Dueling Portion of the test. I will now hand out the test and when you are finished you will hand it to me and wait until I call your name."

The teacher then handed out the tests and told everyone they could begin. Kokuro looked down at the test and nearly dropped his pencil. 'No way,' he thought in his mind. '_This_ is a _Duel Monsters test_!' It was filled with questions that he never thought would be on a test like this. He took a deep breath and decided the only place to go now was forward.

An hour later Kokuro was finished with his test. Some other students had already finished the test but he didn't care. He knew that he had taken his time and done the best he could. He sat back down and waited a while before the teacher called him up. Kokuro took a deep breath and then walked up to the teachers desk. He stood there standing and the teacher motioned him to sit down. Kokuro did so and waited for the teacher to begin.

"Congratulations Mr. Samé, you passed," the teacher said.

Kokuro gave out a sigh of relief and then spoke, "Can I find out what I got?"

"I'm not allowed to reveal your test score. You have to first take the dueling portion of the exam and after that you will be able to find out what you scored." He grabbed something from underneath his desk. It was a white box which he passed over to Kokuro. "This is your temporary Duel Disk that you will use for your entrance exam. Should you pass that part of the exam you will most likely become a student in Duelist Academy and be allowed to use that Duel Disk as your own."

"Thank you," Kokuro said taking the box.

"You may now go to the Dueling Field. An Instructor will tell you where to go from there. You are allowed to watch duels until your time has come."

Kokuro stood up and bowed, "Thank you." He left the class room and let out a deep breath. He had passed the hardest part of the test. The dueling would be easy compared to the test. He walked on until he saw a sign pointing him towards the outdoor dueling arena's. He walked down the hallway and followed the signs until he got to a large, out door arena filled with many players dueling it out. He found the instructor and was told that he could watch some of the other duels until it was his time for his own. He told him that the screen would show him which teacher he was scheduled to duel and an estimated time of the wait.

Kokuro walked over to the screen and took a look. It said that he was supposed to duel an Osiris Red teacher, Jukata-Sensei. He decided that instead of watching the other duels he would just take out his Duel Disk instead. He took it out of the box and looked at it. There was a deck holster on top and a small blue dome next to that. There was a curved extension in front and he saw three monster spaces slightly covered up by the extension. He couldn't figure out where the other two were but he didn't worry about it too much. He was sure he could figure it out once it folded out.

In another room there were teachers sitting around at a large table. "I'm telling you, this kids test scores were amazing for a first year. I get the feeling that he has played this game for a while, he certainly knows his Duel Monsters."

"I don't care what his test scores where," another teacher said. "He's no different than any other first year. I looked at his score, he got an 83."

"AN 83! That's the highest test score we've ever gotten for a first year. It's not Obelisk Blue material but it certainly isn't Osiris Red."

"I don't care. I'm not letting any _first year _get into a second year class,"The teacher said arguing.

"But what if his dueling is good? Ifhis dueling is as good as his gradesthen I'm sure he could probably take out the Osiris Red teacher he's been assigned to."

"Then I'll duel him!" The teacher stood up growling.

"But, Professor Hikari..." The teacher began.

"But nothing," Professor Hikari said. "I will duel him and that's final."

"On one condition," a young boy, possibly around 19 wearing a white trench coat, with brown hair and cold blue eyes said. "If he wins, you have to admit him into Ra Yellow."

"But...Master Kai..."

"Don't you question me!" The boy said standing up slamming his fists. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir," Professor Hikari said bowing. "If the boy wins, he will be admitted into Ra Yellow."

Back at the dueling field Kokuro was toying with his deck waiting for his duel to come up. Suddenly he heard a voice behind him. He turned around and looked to see a boy waving at him. "Hey!" The boy called out.

"Um...hello," Kokuro said confused. "Do I know you?"

"No, I'm just the kid you fell on top of on the boat, no reason to go crazy and try to remember me."

"Oh, hey sorry!" Kokuro said recognizing him then. "It's just I'm so prepped up for the duel."

"Yeah, I can understand that. Come to think of it I never told you my name. It's Kahou." Kahou was a bit shorter than Kokuro, he had short brown hair and blue eyes.

"Nice to meet you Kahou, I'm Kokuro," he said lending out a handshake. Kahou took it and smiled.

"So, now that I know your name I can let you in on a secret." Kahou said.

"Oh, and what's that?" He asked.

"The teacher you're facing is one of the nicest teachers in Osiris Red. He is a kind man who loves to have fun."

"Oh cool," Kokuro said. "But how do you know?"

"Because I've studied up on the teachers so I can try to figure out the best chances I have at beating them when I find out who I duel."

"That's awesome!" Kokuro said impressed.

Suddenly the instructor came over and tapped Kokuro on the shoulder. "Are you Kokuro Samé?" He asked.

"Yes sir," Kokuro said a little curious.

"I've been told to inform you that your duel with Jukata-Sensei has been canceled."

"Canceled?" Kokuro said confused.

"Yes, you have been switched to duel another teacher and that duel is ready to get underway. If you follow me, I'll take you to your arena. Your friend is allowed to come watch if he so chooses."

"Ok," Kokuro said. "Would you like to come watch Kahou?"

"Sure, I'm a little interested in why they switched your teacher." They followed the instructor and soon they arrived at a larger arena. Kokuro looked across the arena to see a man in a Ra Yellow uniform standing there with an mean look on his face and his arms crossed. He seemed to be in his early 30's with brown hair and dark brown eyes.

"OH MY GOSH!" Kahou shouted out.

"What's wrong?" Kokuro asked.

"That's Professor Hikari, he's never once been beaten by a student!"

Two girls who were walking past them stopped to look to see what was happening. One seemed to be acting pretty normal but the other seemed to be a little timid and scared. "Never been beaten?" She repeated quietly.

"That's right," Professor Hikari said nodding to Kahou. "It is true that I have never once been beaten by a student. I've lost a few times to other teachers, but when it comes to students, I have beaten every competitor."

"No way!" Kokuro said. "But...why duel me?"

"Because I don't want you in Duelist Academy, that's why. And so, you will duel me. If you win, you will be placed into Duelist Academy, but if I win, you will be sent home." Kokuro gulped but then a smile appeared on his face. "What are you so happy about?"

"It's just that I'm going to have fun in this duel."

"Fun! You do realize that if you lose you won't be allowed into Duelist Academy!"

"If I don't get in this year then I can always try next year. Just because you've never been beaten by a student doesn't mean I'm not going to give it my all and run away scared. I came here for 4 reasons and in this order. 1. To have fun,2. To make new friends, 3. To try to get better than I already am, and the fourth is to prove myself to my friends back home. I've always been the second runner up, I'm ready to prove that I can move from second to first! As long as I have fun and make new friends while doing that, I'm sure that the others will fall into place. So, I'm going to have fun in this duel."

"Whoa!" Kahou said amazed.

"He's so...confident." The timid girl said watching him get ready.

"Fun?" Professor Hikari suddenly began to burst out laughing. "If you think that you can win by having fun, then this will be an easy victory for me. Say goodbye to Duelest Academy!" he slid in his deck and then his Duel Disk folded out.

Kokuro shuffled his deck and then inserted it into the deck holster. The three slots came forward and Kokuro saw a round center piece at the far right with a red dome on top of it. Just then two slots slid out of each other from the round piece and the dome lit up and his monster slots also lit up. "So that's how it works,"Kokuro said looking at it. He drew his five cards and looked down at them.

"I will start first," Professor Hikari said smiling at his hand. "I will start off by summoning Element Valkyrie in attack mode!" he said as suddenly a woman in armor appeared on the field holding a staff that had one end flaming and the other end with water swirling around it. (1500/1200) "Next I play the field card Luminous Spark!" A slot opened up from the last slot that had slid out from the middle piece and he placed the card in there. The slot closed and the Duel Disk lit up. Suddenly there was a spark of light that came from the center of the field and illuminated the entire field. Suddenly his Element Valkyrie's attack power rose and its defense dropped. (2000/800) "This field card gives all Light Type monsters an extra 500 attack points and decreases their defense by 400. I then set one card under the table and end my turn."

"That was a good move," Kokuro said. "Draw!" He looked over his cards before taking one. "I summon Skilled White Magician!" Kokuro called out as a man in white robes holding a long silver staff appeared on the field. (1700/1900) "And because of your Luminous Spark Field Card my Skilled White gains an extra 500 attack points!" (2200/1500) "Now, Skilled White Magician, attack his Element Valkyrie!" The Magician let out a blast of white energy. The energy headed towards the monster when suddenly Professor Hikari called out.

"Reverse Trap, Waboku! This card will block your attack and keep my monster safe." Three monks appeared and blocked Kokuro's attack. "You'll have to try harder if you want to beat me."

"Very well," Kokuro said looking at his hand. "I'll set two cards under the table and end my turn from there." Two cards appeared in front of Kokuro and he smiled.

"Draw!" Professor Hikari called out. When he saw his card he smiled evilly. "Well, it looks like you are in deep trouble. I summon Maha Vailo!" A man in blue robes appeared on the field and an odd large hat. (1550/1400) "This monster will be your downfall. For starters since it is a light type it gains an extra 500 attack points!" (2050/1000) "Now for my next part, I activate Malevolent Nuzzler, this will give any monster I equip it too an extra 700 attack points." A woman appeared behind Maha Vailo and began giving him a massage. (2750/1000) Suddenly the Maha Vailo started glowing.

"What's happening?" Kokuro asked watching it's attack points increase.

"Maha Vailo gains an extra 500 attack points for each equip card put on it," Professor Hikari said smiling deviously. (3250/1000) "Now, Maha Vailo, attack his Skilled White Magician!" Maha Vailo clapped its hands together and threw a blast of lightning at the Skilled White Magician. The Mage was struck and blown to digital pieces. "And with that I just took a chunk out of your Life Points!"

Suddenly as the rest of the blast came to strike Kokuro he took a card from his hand and slipped it into his Graveyard. Suddenly a brown furry creature with green claws and legs appeared on the field and took the blast. "As you might have guessed I discarded my Kuriboh from my hand to my Graveyard to negate all battle damage that your Maha Vailo's attack would have done."

"It doesn't matter, I attack you with my Element Valkyrie!" The Valkyrie ran up with it's staff in it's hand. Suddenly one of Kokuro's set cards flipped up and 4 multi-colored sheep appeared on the field. The Valkyrie slashed one of the sheep with its staff and only three remained. "What!"

"I reversed my face down Sleepy Sheep card to keep my Life Points safe from your attack. Now you'll have to get through my sheep in order to get to my Life Points."

Professor Hikari growled but then looked at a card in his hand. "I end my turn."

"Draw!" Kokuro called out drawing his card. He looked down at it and couldn't help but smile. "I'll set one card under the table," he announced. "That will end my turn."

Professor Hikari drew his card looking down at it and suddenly he started laughing evilly, "I activate the spell card Cost Down!"

"No way!" Kahou said shocked. "With that he can discard a card from his hand to make all monsters in his hand decrease by two levels! He can summon almost anything in this turn!"

'He's finished,' the girl watching the duel thought.

"Now, I discard Hysteric Fairy from my hand and then with all my monsters lowered by two levels, I can summon this without a sacrifice, Airknight Parshath!" Suddenly an angel clad in armor with a halo and wings appeared on the field. In his right hand he held a large sword. (1900/1400) Suddenly its attack power began to rise. (2400/1000) "As you can see, my monster is a Light Type Monster. Now, Airknight Parshath, destroy one of his sheep!" The angel slashed its sword at the sheep destroying it. Unexpectedly to Kokuro the rest of the blast went and knocked into him. He was flung backwards and his Life Points began to fall. (5600)

"What just happened?" Kokuro asked shocked.

"My Airknight Parshath has a special ability. It can pass right through your monsters defenses and do the difference from its attack, and your monsters defense, right to your Life Points. And since all your sheep tokens have 0 attack and defense, you lost all 2400 Life Points. Plus, whenever my Airknight Parshath does battle damage, I'm allowed one free draw," Professor Hikari said drawing his card."

"I'm in trouble," Kokuro said looking at the field.

"Now, Maha Vailo, and Element Valkyrie, attack his two remaining Sheep Tokens!" The Valkyrie slashed its staff at one of the sheep while Maha Vailo blasted the last one with electricity. A gust of wind blew up from the two attacks and caused Kokuro to have to shield himself. Professor Hikari started laughing, "Still having fun?"

The wind died down and Kokuro looked up at Professor Hikari and smiled, "Actually I am. This is a good duel, even though I'm losing. But don't think that doesn't mean I'm not going to give it my all in this duel."

"Oh yeah, well now I activate the card I drew, the Sealing Swords of Light!" Shining swords came down from the sky and landed around Kokuro. "With these swords you can't launch an attack for 3 turns. How can you expect to win if you have no way to destroy my monsters?"

"Reverse Trap, Solemn Wishes!" Kokuro called out. "Each time I draw a card I will gain an additional 500 Life Points."

"It doesn't matter, with my Airknight Parshath, I can knock out all your Life Points before you can recover them. Give up! You can't beat me! NO student can beat me!"

Kokuro just smiled, "We'll just see about that, there's a first time for everything," he said drawing. Suddenly sparkling light fell upon Kokuro and his life points rose. (6100) 'Well, this could be helpful,' he thought,'but I have to be really careful.' "I summon White Magician Pikeru!" Kokuro called out. Suddenly a girl in white robes, with pink hair, and a brown staff with a sphere on the end of it appeared on the field. (1200/0)

Are you joking? That card can't do anything," Professor Hikari taunted.

"We'll see about that, first off Pikeru gains an extra 500 attack points due to your Luminous Spark." Kokuro said smiling. 1700/0

"It doesn't matter, it's still weaker than all the cards on my side of the field."

"Next, I'll set one card under the table and end my turn." Kokuro said calmly. The swords around Kokuro began to dim a little.

Professor Hikari drew his card and looked at it. "I summon Hysteric Fairy!" he called out as a woman angel appeared with white wings holding a book. (1800/500) Suddenly the light from the spark in the middle of the field caused the Hysteric Fairy to begin glowing. (2300/100) "This is the end for you," Professor Hikari said laughing. "Element Valkyrie, wipe out his pathetic Magician!"

Suddenly Kokuro's eyes narrowed and he became angry, "Call me anything you want but _never _call my Magicians pathetic!" he said in a very deep tone. "Reverse trap, Wall of Revealing Light!" Suddenly Kokuro began glowing, and as he glowed a barrier appeared on the field. "This trap allows me to sacrifice my Life Points in intervals of 1000. Depending on how many Life Points I pay is how many more attack points your monsters have to have in order to attack. So now I sacrifice 4000 Life Points! So no monster with 4000 or less attack points can move!" (2100)

"No way," the girl watching the duel said to herself.

'Is he crazy?' Kahou thought. 'All Professor Hikari has to do is add even a 300 attack increasing card to Maha Vailo and it will be able to attack. And when that happens Kokuro will lose the last of his Life Points and be forced to leave Duelist Academy.'

"I'm waiting for you to continue your move," Kokuro said folding his arms.

"I see you are not having fun any longer," Professor Hikari said smirking.

"I'm annoyed that you called my Magicians pathetic. Now finish your move."

"Seeing as how I have no more cards in my hand I guess I'm done."

"Draw!" Kokuro called out drawing his card. Sparkling light came down on Kokuro as he drew the card. (2600) "My Life Points don't stop increasing there. Now my White Magician Pikeru's special ability activates, for each monster on my field during my Standby Phase I gain another 400 Life Points!" Pikeru began glowing and then raised its wand causing Kokuro to glow. (3000) "Also, I've drawn my Pot of Greed, so I activate it, and thanks to my Solemn Wishes, I will gain another 500 Life Points." Sparkling rain fell on him as he drew his two new cards. (3500)

'Amazing,' Kahou thought. 'He sacrificed all those Life Points to keep all of Professor Hikari's monsters from attacking whileand now he's going to sit here and gain them all back. His determination is amazing, but will it be enough to defeat the teacher no others could?'

"My next move is going to blow you away, I activate Spell Absorption, a card I got from my sister," he said remembering back to when Selaya had given him the Spell Absorption. "Now I summon Archfiend Soldier!" Suddenly a purple creature in a long cape holding a large sword appeared. (1900/1500) "But he's only going to be here for a short time. For now I activate Tribute Doll! This card allows me to sacrifice a monster on my side in order to special summon a level 7 monster from my hand. So I offer up Archfiend Soldier in order to summon Buster Blader!" A warrior equipped with battle armor and an even larger sword than the archfiend had appeared on the field. (2600/2300) "Also, my Spell Absorption now kicks in. Since I activated a Spell Card, Spell Absorption gives me an extra 500 Life Points." Suddenly the card began to glow and Kokuro's Life Points rose. (4000) "Lastly, I'll shift Pikeru on guard just in case and end my turn." Pikeru crouched down and its card appeared underneath it. Suddenly the swords became noticeably dimmer. "After my next turn I will be free to attack.

'That kid just gained back a whole bunch of Life Points in one turn!' Professor Hikari thought. 'Fine, I can still win!' "Draw!"he announced. "I shift my Hysteric Fairy, Element Valkyrie, and Airknight Parshath on guard." The three monsters all crouched down and their cards appeared underneath them. "Also, I set one card under the table and end my turn."

"Which makes it my turn!" Kokuro said drawing. "And with that I gain a total of 1300 Life Points due to my White Magician Pikeru and my Solemn Wishes," Kokuro said as his life points rose. (5300) He looked down at the card he drew. 'This could be helpful later, but right now I have to wait.' "I guess I'll just end my turn." Suddenly the swords surrounding Kokuro disappeared. " And it looks like I'm free to attack next turn."

Professor Hikari drew his card and looked down at it. 'This kid is stopping everything I do and that needs to change.' "I activate Card of Sanctity, this will force us to draw until we have 6 cards in our hand!" They both drew a brand new hand of 6 cards and Kokuro began laughing. "What's so funny?"

"Well, since you activated a Spell Card and since I drew from my deck, I just gained another 1000 Life Points," Kokuro said as his Life Points rose." (6300)

"Don't get so cocky, for now I sacrifice my Hysteric Fairy and my Element Valkyrie for Sanga the Thunder!" Professor Hikari said as his large Gate Guardian piece rose up from the field. It was a brown on top and green on the bottom monster with the symbol of electricity on it. (2600/2200) "And of course it gets a power up." (3100/1800) "Finally I'll set one card under the table and end my turn." The card appeared on the field and it was Kokuro's turn.

'Kokuro is lucky that Professor Hikari didn't draw an equipment card, but that doesn't mean he's safe,' Kahou thought.

Kokuro drew his card and looked down at it. 'This probably can't help yet but if I'm in a bind it will be good to have.' "First I gain another 1300 Life Points. (7600) Then I set one card under the table." Kokuro said placing his card in his Duel Disk filling up his Spell and Trap spots. "Next, I think it's time for a bit of payback. Buster Blader, attack his Airknight Parshath!" The Buster Blader swung its sword and sliced the angel in the middle destroying it. "I'll set one monster on guard and end my turn."

Professor Hikari drew his card and smiled deviously,"Finally, I activate Gravity Axe-Grarl on my Maha Vailo." Suddenly an axe appeared in Maha Vailo's hands. "With this no monster can switch it's battle position plus my Maha Vailo gains 500 attack points. But don't forget about its special ability giving it an extra 500." (4250/1000) "Now it is strong enough to get past your wall, now go and destroy his White Magician Pikeru!" Maha Vailo ran through the wall and slammed the axe on Pikeru destroying it.

"Why did you choose Pikeru?" Kokuro wondered.

"Look at the bigger picture. Now you won't gain as many Life Points, plus it's not like your Buster Blader can switch positions anyway due to the Gravity Axe."

"Speaking of Life Points, don't forget the ones from Spell Absorption I received when you played your Gravity Axe," Kokuro reminded him. (8100)

"Whatever, I end my turn."

"Draw!" Kokuro called out drawing his card. The sparkling rain fell down on Kokuro and his Life Points increased. (8600) He looked down at his card and sighed, it was his Magic Cylinder Trap Card. 'This would be great help but I don't have any place to play it,' he thought to himself. "I end my turn."

"It seems I have you in a bind," Professor Hikari Smirked. "Perfect!" he said laughing evilly as he looked at his card. "I activateMonster Reborn! And I use it to bring back my Airknight Parshath!" Suddenly his angel appeared on the field again glowing. "Now I activate Giant Trunade, with this card all Spell and Trap cards return from the field to the owners hand!"

"NO!" Kahou called out.

"First since you played two Spells I gain 1000 Life Points!" Kokuro reminded him. (9600)

"Gain all the Life Points you want, you're about to be set back once again!" Professor Hikari laughed as suddenly all his monsters attack powers reduced. Maha Vailo: (1550/1400) Sanga: (2600/2200) Airknight Parshath: (1900/1400) "Now, I re-activate Luminous Spark once again raising all their attack points!" The spark returned and all their attack points increased again. (2050/1000), (3100/1800) (2400/1000) "Next, I will activate Malevolent Nuzzler and Gravity Axe-Grarl on Maha Vailo once more!" Maha Vailo's equipments re-appeared and it's attack power raised again. (4250/1000) "Finally I summon Homunculus the Alchemic Being!" He called out as a man with different colors on his skin and a symbol on his arm appeared. (1800/1600) "He can be any Type but his base type is Light! (2300/1200) Now, Maha Vailo, destroy his Buster Blader!" Maha Vailo ran towards the warrior and slammed an electrically charged axe down on him destroying him." The rest of the attack went on to hit Kokuro and it knocked him down. (7950)

"Kokuro!" Kahou called out.

"Look at yourself, you have gained most of your Life Points back, even went past your original, and yet you haven't even touched mine! It just proves that I am the superior duelist. Now, Airknight Parshath destroy his on guard monster leaving him wide open for a direct attack!" Suddenly the angel swung its sword down and a burst of energy came out of it. It slammed into the face down card to reveal a magician with blond hair and purple robes. (400/800) The blast destroyed it and hit Kokuro. Kokuro breathed heavily as his Life Points reduced again. (6350)

"Don't forget the ability of my Airknight Parshath, whenever it does damage I get to draw a card." He said drawing his card. "Now Sanga attack!"

"Not so fast," Kokuro called out. "The magician you destroyed when you attacked was my Apprentice Magician, its special ability allows me to go through my deck and take a Spellcaster with two stars or less from my deck and place it on the field face down on guard."

"I don't see how this will help you," Professor Hikari said bored.

"Oh you'll see," Kokuro said smiling. He took out his deck and searched for his card. He found it and then placed it face down on his Duel Disk.

"Whatever, Homunculus will attack instead so that I can wipe out a good portion of your Life Points. So go and attack it!" The man went towards the card and punched it destroying it. An image of the Apprentice Magician appeared again and was destroyed. "No!" Professor Hikari growled.

"Looks like you figured it out," Kokuro said taking out his deck again and placing another card face down."

"Fine, that means you can only have one other in your deck, so when I get rid of it you will have nothing else to search for. Sanga, attack the final Apprentice Magician!" The elemental let out a surge of electricity blasting away the card. The magician appeared again and was then destroyed. "Now you have nothing."

"Wrong, do you really think Apprentice Magician is the only level two Spellcaster in my deck?" Kokuroasked smiling. He once again took out his deck and placed a card face down."

"What could he have hidden?" Professor Hikari thought to himself. "I'll set one card under the table and end my turn."

Kokuro looked down at his hand, 'I need the right card in order to make this move work to my favor,' he thought to himself. He slowly pulled a card from his deck and looked at it. "Perfect!" he said.

"What could he have drawn?" Kahou wondered.

"Now it's time, first I reactive Spell Absorption," Kokuro said playing the card. "Next I reverse summon the monster I have face down. My Old Vindictive Magician! He has the power to destroy any monster when he is reverse summoned."

"No way!" Professor Hikari said shocked.

The girl who had been watching the duel was amazed. 'He hasn't given up. He keeps coming back. He's so confident in his own abilities, unlike me.'

"Now I use my Old Vindictive Magician to destroy your Sanga!" Suddenly the Old Magician let out a blast of magic that smashed into the Sanga and destroyed it.

"Haha, I knew you were a fool. Had you played your move correctly..."

"I'm not done!" Kokuro called out smiling, shocking Professor Hikari. "Now, I offer up my Old Vindictive Magician so that I can summon my Black Magician Girl!" Suddenly the old mage disappeared and a female magician in a blue magician outfit with blond hair and green eyes appeared holding a small staff. (2000/1700) "Next I activate the Spell Card, Sages Stone, whenever Black Magician Girl is in play I can use the Sages Stone to special summon Black Magician from my hand or deck." Kokuro called out taking out his deck and searching for his Black Magician. He put it on the field and a magician in dark purple robes with a long staff and green skin appeared on Kokuro's side of the field. (2500/2100) "Don't forget, since I activated a Spell Card, Spell Absorption gives me another 500 Life Points! (6850) Now, since I have my Black Magician on the field, I can activate this card, Black Magic Attack!"

"All right!" Kahou cheered.

"With Black Magician on the field my Black Magic Attack can destroy all Spells and Traps on your side of the field!"

"NO!" Professor Hikari shouted.

Suddenly the Black Magician's staff began to glow and it let out a blast of magic. Maha Vailo's Axe and the Malevolent Nuzzler both got destroyed. The spark on the field was diminished along with Professor Hikari's face down card. Kokuro began smiling. "And of course I gain 500 Life Points and at the same time greatly decrease your ability to win this duel." (7350)

Professor Hikari watched in horror as his monsters attack points all dropped. Homunculus: (1800/1600) Maha Vailo: (1550/1400) Airknight Parshath: (1900/1400) "I can't believe it!" Professor Hikari said shocked.

"And now its time to take out the biggest threat! Black Magician use your Black Magic Attack to destroy Maha Vailo and finally do some well deserved damage to his Life Points!" The Black Magician let out a blast of energy that destroyed the Maha Vailo in one shot causing the rest of the attack to hit Professor Hikari making him stumble a bit. "And now Black Magician Girl, attack his Airknight Parshath! Burning Magic Attack!" The Black Magician Girl created a ball of pink energy around her staff and shot it out at the angel. The angel took the attack and was destroyed causing the rest of the attack to hit Professor Hikari. (6950)

Professor Hikari started to growl, "I can't believe you've come this far! Don't get cocky though, I won't lose."

"Even if you did win, this has been a good duel. I am proud to know that I've come this far against such a good duelist. Only 100 Life Points separate us now, and some how you're still in the lead. But I won't let that worry me too much. I'll set three cards under the table and end my turn."

"My move, Draw!" Professor Hikari called out. "I activate Pot of Greed."

"Which gives me more Life Points now," Kokuro said proudly. (7350)

"I activate Premature Burial, with this card I lose 800 Life Points but I get a monster from my side of the field back in attack mode. And I choose Sanga the Thunder!" Suddenly the Thunder Elemental appeared out of the ground. (2600/2200) (6150)

"And here comes some more Life Points for me," Kokuro said smiling (7850)

"Forget you, now I summon Mirage Dragon!" Professor Hikari said evilly as a dragon appeared on the field. (1600/600) "Now I activate my second Luminous Spark. Who cares if you gain more Life Points, it won't matter soon enough." The spark blasted out of the ground again creating another blinding light. (8350) "And since both my monsters are Light types, they get a power boost!" Sanga (3100/1800) Mirage Dragon (2100/200) "Now, I enter my Battle Phase," Professor Hikari smiled deviously. Suddenly the Mirage Dragon began to glow and all the face down cards on Kokuro's side of the field also began to glow.

'What's going on?' Kokuro wondered.

"Now, Sanga, attack his Black Magician!" Sanga gathered its electrical energy and fired it at the Black Magician.

"Reverse Trap!" Kokuro called out. He waited for his Trap to flip up but it never did. Suddenly the electrical surge hit the Black Magician and he was destroyed. Kokuro's Life Points then fell. (7250) "What happened? Why didn't my Trap Card activate?"

"That was my Mirage Dragons doing. Its special ability makes it so that you can't activate traps during the Battle Phase," Professor Hikari said laughing.

"No way!" Kokuro gasped.

"Now, here we go, my Homunculus will now attack your Black Magician Girl!"

"No!" Kokuro gasped. Suddenly the Black Magician Girl prepared a counter attack as it fought with Homunculus. There was a big explosion and when it was over neither was there.

"What did you do to my Homunculus?" Professor Hikari shouted.

"Didn't you know? For every Black Magician in the Graveyard my Black Magician Girl gets an extra 300 attack points. Which means both of them had the same attack power, causing both of them to be destroyed."

"It doesn't matter, go Mirage Dragon, attack the player!" The Mirage Dragon blasted an aura beam at Kokuro and knocking him down. (5150) "Stay down, you can't win."

"That's what you think," Kokuro said standing up smiling. "I told you, I'm not just going to give up. I can win, I just have to get past your Mirage Dragon, and then I can worry about taking out your Sanga."

"That won't happen. Iset a card under the table and end my turn."

"When you set your card I chain to my Solemn Wishes. Now I draw!" Glittering rain came down on Kokuro giving him Life Points. (5650) 'This will work!' Kokuro said eyeing Sanga. "I set one card under the table and then I will set one monster on guard. And that will end my turn."

"Now it's my turn!" Professor Hikari said drawing. "If you thought one was bad, I bet you never expected this. I summon my second Mirage Dragon!" A second dragon appeared on Professor Hikari's side of the field.

"Reverse Trap, Dust Tornado!" Kokuro called out. "This Trap can destroy any Spell or Trap on the field and I'm using it on the Premature Burial keeping your Sanga on the field!" A large tornado appeared on the field and blew towards the Premature Burial. The card was caught in the wind and destroyed. Suddenly Sanga blew to pieces of digital data.

"Fine, I'm still going to win! Go Mirage Dragon, destroy his monster!" The dragon let out another aura beam that hit the card on Kokuro's side of the field. Suddenly an Old Vindictive Magician appeared. "NO!"

"Yup, and I'll have him target your other Mirage Dragon!" The magician let out a blast of magic destroying the second Mirage Dragon. "And now you have no other monsters to attack with this turn."

"I end my turn," Professor Hikari growled

'This is a good duel,' Kokuro thought, 'but I still want to get into Duelist Academy this year. I need to draw something that will help change the tide of this duel.' Kokuro slowly drew his card and looked at it. "Excellent! First I gain 500 Life Points from Solemn Wishes! But then I play Premature Burial, I pay 800 but I gain 500 back, all in all this move I gain 200 Life Points! (5850) I use my Premature Burial to bring back my Buster Blader!" Suddenly the mighty warrior appeared on the field. (2600/2300) "Here's where things get really fun. Buster Blader gains 500 attack points for each dragon on your side of the field and in your Graveyard. So since you have played two Mirage Dragons, my Buster Blader gains an extra 1000 attack points!" (3600/2300) "Buster Blader, destroy his Mirage Dragon!"

The Buster Blader ran towards the dragon with it's mighty sword and swung it at the monster slicing it in half. The rest of the attack went on to hit Professor Hikari knocking him backwards. (5450) Professor Hikari slowly stood up breathing hard. "You will pay."

"I'm not sure about that," Kokuro said smiling. "You are the one who is now behind 400 Life Points."

"Don't get cocky!" Professor Hikari shouted.

"I'm not trying to be cocky, I'm just pointing out what I've noticed. Be glad, this has been an excellent duel so far."

"I will make sure you pay!" Professor Hikari called out. He drew his card and looked at it. "I set one card under the table and end my turn."

"Then it's my turn!" Kokuro said drawing his card. Sparkling rain came down on him and his Life Points increased. 6350 "Now, Buster Blader, attack the player!" The Buster Blader ran towards Professor Hikari with its sword and prepared for it's attack.

"Reverse Trap," Professor Hikari called out. "Call of the Haunted. This Trap Card can bring back any monster from my Graveyard and summon it in attack mode. So now I resurrect my Sanga of the Thunder!" Suddenly the large elemental appeared.

"Oh come on!" Kokuro called out. "How many times do I have to get past this thing? I guess it's what makes this duel fun. A nd its what makes you annoying."

"It's what makes it so that I will win," Professor Hikari laughed menacingly. "Now, are you going to attack my Sanga?"

"Nope, I'll end my turn from here."

"Draw!" Professor Hikari laughed. "I activate Malevolent Nuzzler!" He said as another woman began to give the Sanga a massage. 4000/1800 Due to Professor Hikari activating a Spell Kokuro gained Life Points. (6850) "And I think that will end my turn."

"Draw!" Kokuro said drawing his card. The sparkling rain came down and fell on Kokuro. (7350) "Finally!" Kokuro said pumping a fist in the air. "I remove White Magician Pikeru and an Old Vindictive Magician from my Graveyard in order to special summon my Chaos Sorcerer!"A man in dark black robes with purple skin appeared on the field. (2300/2000)

"Alright!" Kahou cheered.

"NO! You can't do this!" Professor Hikari called out.

"Oh yes I can!" Kokuro said pointing. "Now Chaos Sorcerer, remove his Sanga from play using your special ability" The Sorcerer placed its hands together causing them to glow. Suddenly a glowing sphere appeared around Sanga. The sphere began to disappear leaving Sanga trapped inside causing it to disappear as well. "And now that that is done, Buster Blader, attack the player!" The Buster Blader ran towards a smirking Professor Hikari.

"Reverse Trap, Physical Double!" Suddenly a slime monster appeared on the field, it shifted its shape until it looked exactly like the Buster Blader. (3600/2300)

"What is that?" Kokuro asked.

"A Mirage Token," Professor Hikari said grinning. "It takes on the level, type, attribute, attack, and defense of one of your monsters. If you want to attack it go ahead, it will just result in a draw and your Buster Blader will be destroyed."

Kokuro let out a sigh and then smiled. "Oh well, I guess that's how these things go. I end my turn." When he ended the Mirage Token blew to pieces. "So I guess it is a one turn defense," Kokuro said smiling even more.

"One turn was all I needed, draw!" Professor Hikari called out. "I set one monster on guard and end my turn."

"Just one monster eh? Very well, Draw!" The sparkling rain came down on Kokuro as he drew. (7850) "Professor Hikari, can I ask a question?"

"What is it?" he asked annoyed.

"Why don't you want me in Duelist Academy? What did I do to get you so angry?"

"That is none of your business," he answered sternly.

"I think it is, you seem to hate me for no reason and I want to know why."

"It won't matter once I win this duel. You will be shipped off and I won't have to worry about you ever again."

"I guess you leave me no choice. This might sting a bit. Chaos Sorcerer, attack the on guard monster!" The Chaos Sorcerer let lose a blast of magic and it hit the card. A woman with purple hair wearing purple and red robes appeared holding a staff.

"You destroyed my Magician of Faith. Now I can return one Spell from my Graveyard to my hand." His Graveyard slid out a card and he took it and added it to his hand.

"Now Buster Blader, attack the player!" The Buster Blader ran towards Professor Hikari and slashed at him with his sword. Professor Hikari fell backwards from the attack. (1850) "With that I will end my turn.

Professor Hikari stood up growling. "No student has ever gotten me this low, and has never had this much of a difference between our Life Points. I will not lose to you!" he shouted drawing his card from his deck.

"Chill out," Kokuro said. "It's just a game."

"I'll chill out when you have lost! I activate Pot of Greed allowing me to draw two new cards."

"But on a positive note I gain 500 more Life Points." Kokuro said smiling 8350

Professor Hikari growled but then looked at his new card, "Excellent! Iplay Heavy Storm, you gain 500 more Life Points but now all of your Spells and Traps are destroyed!" Suddenly a giant hurricane came through the field and wiped out all of the cards on the field, including Kokuro's set Magic Cylinder and Wall of Revealing Light. It also destroyed his Premature Burial causing his Buster Blader to be destroyed. (8850) "Now, I activate the card I took back with Magician of Faith, the Sealing Swords of Light!" Suddenly the shining swords came down from the sky again and landed on Kokuro's side of the field.

"Now I could be in a bind," Kokuro said. "Fortunately for me though he destroyed his Luminous Spark when he activated Heavy Storm."

"But unfortunately for you I drew my last one with Pot of Greed!" he said as the Field Card Zone slid out and he slapped the card on causing the spark of light on the field to return. "Now I summon Thunder Nyan Nyan!" he called out as a woman appeared on a cloud with drums. She wore leopard skin clothing and had red hair.(1900/800) "And like every other card in my deck she is a Light Type." Suddenly she started glowing and her attack increased and her defense decreased. (2400/400) "Now, destroy his Chaos Sorcerer!" She started banging on her drums and a bolt of lightning came down from her cloud and destroyed the Chaos Sorcerer. The rest of the attack slightly zapped Kokuro. (8750) "Now, with that I end my turn."

Kokuro drew his card and looked down at it. "I set one monster on guard, and two cards under the table and end my turn." He said as his cards appeared on the field. The swords dimmed showing that one turn had passed.

"My move draw!" Professor Hikari said. He looked at it and smiled. I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy the card on your left." Suddenly Kokuro's Torrential Tribute card flipped up and was blown away. "I'm sure you could have used that. Go Thunder Nyan Nyan, attack his monster!" The Thunder Nyan began to bang her drums when Kokuro called out.

"Reverse Trap, Shadow Spell!" Suddenly Kokuro's Trap Card flipped up and black chains came around the Nyan keeping her from moving. "With my Shadow Spell active your Thunder Nyan Nyan can't attack, or switch battle positions. Also, it loses 700 attack points.(1700/400)

"Fine, I end my turn!" Professor Hikari growled.

"My move," Kokuro called out. "I offer up my face down Archfiend Soldier in order to summon my Chaos Command Magician!" Suddenly the on guard card disappeared and it was replaced by a Magician wearing green robes and holding a green staff with a red ruby in the center of the top. (2400/1500) "And thanks to your Luminous Spark, my Chaos Command Magician gains an extra 500 attack points!" Kokuro said smiling as his Chaos Command Magician began glowing. (2900/1100)

"But you can't attack due to my Sealing Swords."

"True," Kokuro said. "I set one card under the table and end my turn." The Sealing Swords dimmed again. In one more turn they would be gone.

"Draw!" Professor Hikari said smiling deviously. "I activate Soul Exchange! With this I can use one of your monsters as a tribute in place of one of my own! So I offer up your Chaos Command Magician and my Thunder Nyan Nyan so I can summon this mighty creature! Seiyaryu!" Suddenly a pink dragon with emerald eyes and long sharp claws appeared on the field. 2500/2300

"No way! That is one of the rarest dragons in all of Duel Monsters. Surpassed only by the Red Eyes Black Dragon and the Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

"It is also the second strongest Light Type Dragon in all of Duel Monsters," Professor Hikari said laughing as the Luminous Spark began to glow brighter causing Seiyaryu to glow brighter. (3000/1900) "Here is a lesson kid, when you are facing someone who has never been beaten by a kid, expect them to have rare and powerful cards. Then again, once you leave Duelist Academy you won't have to worry about that ever again," he said smirking. "Due to my Soul Exchange I can't attack this turn. So I will end, seeing as how I have no other cards in my hand."

Kokuro drew his card and looked down at it. 'Double Spell,' he thought. 'That won't help until next turn.' "I set one monster on guard and end my turn." The swords diminished leaving Kokuro able to attack again.

Professor Hikari drew his card and smiled. "I activate Fairy Meteor Crush! This will give my Seiyaryu a trample effect, allowing me to crush you all the sooner! Go Seiyaryu, attack his monster with your Mystic Flame!" The dragon let out a blast of shining fire that hit the monster. A woman with green hair wearing yellow robes and holding a harp appeared on the field. (800/2000)

"You attacked my Spirit of the Harp," Kokuro said.

"Yes, but don't forget that because of Luminous Spark your monster gains 500 attack but loses 400 defense points." (1300/1600) The flames destroyed the Spirit and went on to hit Kokuro. He screamed out as his Life Points dropped. (7350) "Ahh, the sound of pain, I end my turn from here."

Kokuro slowly drew his card taking a look at it. S uddenly Kahou called out. "Don't give up!" Kokuro turned to look at him, "I know it seems bad, but think about it, you got him down to 1850 Life Points while you are standing strong at 7350. You just have to get past his Seiyaryu and you should be able to win. He has no other cards on his field or in his hand."

Kokuro nodded and gave Kahou a thumbs up. "I activate Double Spell!" he called out. "By discarding Fusion from my hand I can activate a spell card from your Graveyard and the card I choose is your Sealing Swords of Light!" Suddenly the shining swords came down from the sky onto Professor Hikari's side of the field freezing his Seiyaryu. "Now that your Dragon can't attack and that I have no more cards in my hand I end my turn."

Professor Hikari growled and drew his card. "I activate my last Malevolent Nuzzler and give it to my Seiyaryu!" Suddenly the all to familiar woman appeared on the field and began massaging the dragon. (3700/1900) "I end my turn." The swords began to dim signaling that the first turn had ended.

Kokuro drew his card and sighed. "I summon Double Coston," he said as two ghosts appeared on his side of the field. (1700/1650) "I end my turn."

"Smart move playing them in attack mode, even though you will only save 50 Life Points. I summon Homunculus the Alchemic Being!" Professor Hikari said as his monster appeared on the field. (1800/1600) Suddenly it began to glow and got stronger. (2300/1200) "I end my turn." The swords dimmed again and Kokuro knew his time was limited.

"Draw!" he called out taking the card from his deck looking down at his Fire Princess. 'This isn't what I need.' "I set one monster on guard and end my turn," he said as the card appeared on the field.

"Draw!" Professor Hikari said as he drew the card. "I summon Hysteric Fairy!" he called out as his angel appeared on the field. (1800/500) It began to glow and then its attack power increased. (2300/100) "After your next turn my army of Light Type monsters will plow through all your defenses and leave you helpless. It's over!" He began to laugh evilly as the swords completely diminished unfreezing all his monsters.

'He's right,' Kokuro thought looking down at his deck. 'I've exhausted almost all of my deck in this one duel.'

"You can do it!" Kahou called out.

"Can he...really win?" the girl who had been watching the duel asked herself.

The whole audience watched, practically at the edge of their seats. They knew that the end was coming up. 'I can't give up,' Kokuro thought. 'I told everyone I would make it in. I've fought many hard duels with Yamato and D.I know I can win. I've had fun in this duel, but now is the moment of truth. This 'teacher' obviously needs a lesson in having fun with a game. And I'm the one who will teach him that lesson with this card!' His hand was drawing his card as he thought to himself. He slowly pulled it up and looked at it. Suddenly a smile crossed his face. "Prepare yourself Professor Hikari, I just drew the key card. As I'm sure you know, my Double Coston counts as two monsters when I'm using it as a tribute for a Dark Type. So now I offer up my Double Coston and I summon the strongest Magician in my deck!" Suddenly both of the ghosts disappeared and a Magician with flowing black hair, wearing blue armor type robes, holding a long blue staff with red spirals going around it and an emerald gem appeared on the field and glared down at Professor Hikari. (2800/2600) "I've summoned the Black Magician of Chaos!" Kokuro called out.

"No way!" Professor Hikari gasped.

"The Black Magician of Chaos has two abilities. The first one is when he is normal summoned or special summoned successfully I can return a Spell Card from my Graveyard to my hand. And judging by the look on your face, you have no way to stop his arrival!" Kokuro's Graveyard Slot slid out a card and he took it in his hand. "And the card I have chosen is my Premature Burial which I use to resurrect my Buster Blader!" Suddenly the card appeared on the field and the Buster Blader rose up from the ground. (2600/2300) (6550) "Since your Seiyaryu is on the field and you have two Mirage Dragons in the Graveyard my Buster Blader gains an additional 1500 attack points. Now in all honesty, I suck at math, but when it is in intervals of 500 I know that this puts my Buster Blader in a position to take out your Seiyaryu!" Kokuro watched as his Buster Blader's sword began to glow and his attack power increased. (4100/2300)

"No!" Professor Hikari said shocked.

"Now, Buster Blader, destroy his Seiyaryu!" The warrior ran towards the dragon and slashed it across the chest destroying it and sending the attack on to Professor Hikari. "Now, Black Magician of Chaos, attack the Hysteric Fairy!" The mighty Magician rose it's staff and a surge of black energy came swirling around it. It pointed it at the fairy and let lose the attack. It blasted into the fairy destroying it instantly and going on to knock Professor Hikari down onto the ground. (950) Most of the audience cheered for Kokuro knowing he was going to win soon while others stat there watching one of the greatest teachers ever being on the verge of defeat.

"The second ability of my Black Magician of Chaos is that whenever he destroys a monster, that monster is removed from play. And with that, I end my turn."

Professor Hikari slowly stood up breathing hard. 'How? How is it possible that this kid could defeat me?'he wondered. He slowly drew his card and looked down at it. "I set one monster on guard and switch my Homunculus on guard and end my turn."

Kokuro swiftly drew his card and looked down at it smiling. "I activate Diffusion-Wave Motion! By paying 1000 Life Points any level 7 or higher Spellcaster can attack every monster on your side of the field. (5550) Also none of your monsters effects can be activated when they are destroyed. The only down side is that I can't attack with any of my other monsters. But due to my Black Magician of Chaos' effect not only will your monsters be destroyed they will also be removed from play. Now go Black Magician of Chaos, attack all of Professor Hikari's monsters!" The Black Magician of Chaos let out multiple blasts of magic that destroyed Professor Hikari's Homunculus and his face down monster which turned out to be his last Mirage Dragon. Buster Blader's attack power rose and the field was clear. (4600/2300) "That ends my turn."

Professor Hikari growled and drew his card. "I place a monster on guard and end my turn."

Kokuro drew his card, "Buster Blader attack his monster!" The warrior jumped forward and sliced the card in half. A Maha Vailo appeared and was instantly destroyed. "Maybe now you will learn to not underestimate your opponents. Now go my Black Magician of Chaos, attack the player!" The Magician gathered energy and blasted it right at Professor Hikari. It slammed into him knocking him down to the ground as he lost the last of his Life Points. (0)

"No way...he actually won,"Kahou said amazed. T hen he pumped his fist in the air. "He won! Kokuro won!"

The audience started chanting Kokuro's name while other members of the audience just stared at Professor Hikari slowly getting up and Kokuro standing there smiling. One girl especially sat there completely stunned. She was wearing a Ra Yellow uniform and had shoulder length maroon colored hair. She then clenched her fists together and let out a growl staring down at Kokuro who was smiling, and getting his cards back together. "That boy will pay for this," she said growling. She then stood up and walked out of the audience.

Up in a tower that was over looking the arena that Kokuro had just dueled in, the teacher who graded Kokuro's test and the boy with the white trench coat looked down at the smiling Kokuro. "Make sure that boy is placed into Ra Yellow immediately," the boy said.

"Yes Master Kaiba,"the teacher said bowing and then turned to leave.

The boy who had been called Kaiba looked down at Kokuro and smirked, "I expect great things from that one."

Back down at the arena the two girls stood there in awe. "Wow, that was amazing!" The more relaxed girl said. "I hope we do that well in our duels. Come to think of it, our duels should be starting in 5 minutes."

"His deck..." the timid girl said. "Its amazing." Suddenly she ran off back towards the entrance.

"Hey!Wait up!" the other girl called back running after her.

Kokuro turned around to see the two girls running off. 'Must be late for their duel,' he thought noticing them for the first time. He finished gathering his cards and walked over to Professor Hikari. "I hope now you will learn to have a bit more fun in your duels," Kokuro said lending out his hand to help him up.

Professor Hikari slapped his hand away. "I don't need your help," he said getting up by himself. He brushed himself off and walked away growling.

Kahou ran up to Kokuro and gave him a high five, "That was so totally awesome!" he said.

"Thanks, it was a tough duel, but it was also a lot of fun."

"Kokuro Samé," the instructor said walking over to him. "Congratulations, if you would please follow me I will lead you to the room where you will be briefed on how your two grades were and, if you are accepted, where your dormitory will be along with a few other things."

"Are you kidding?" Kahou asked amazed. "After _that _performance how could he _not _be admitted."

"I admit that it was an impressive duel, but I am just speaking the mandatory speech for all people who win their duels. Now, if you will please follow me Mr. Samé."

Kokuro nodded, "Best of luck in your duel Kahou!" He said shaking Kahou's hand.

"Thanks, and Congratulations again."

"Thank you," Kokuro said. He then followed the instructor out of the arena with people still cheering for him.


	3. Welcome To Duelist Academy

Sdrive: Not mine.

A/N: Just to let you all know, if last chapter kinda sucked grammar and other stuff wise, it was because half of it was written at night on the way down to South Carolina and the other half was written while in S.C. at night, which took my till around 2:00 mind you. Also, Sorry if people don't like the 8000 point duels, but they are the only ones I'm good at writing, I try writing 4000, but they come out kind of crappy due to the fact that there are so few Life Points to work with. Sorry, please enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Kokuro followed the instructor through the halls in Duelist Academy. He was led into a room where he was motioned to sit down. Sitting in the seat he waited for his tester to come into the room. The teacher that had given him the test sat down in his chair with a manila folder in his hand. He opened the folder and looked through it. "Well, congratulations," the teacher said. "As I'm sure you're well aware you have been accepted into Duelist Academy. Your test score was the best score we've ever seen for a first year student. You scored a surprising 83" 

"Really? That high?" Kokuro said amazed.

"Yes, basically the only questions you missed were questions having to do with math and numbers, and a few questions here and there."

Kokuro sat there smiling sheepishly and scratching the back of his head. "Why doesn't that surprise me?" he asked.

"Well, in any case you certainly know your Duel Monsters. Now, your dueling was superb. You beat the strongest Ra Yellow teacher."

"Speaking of Professor Hikari, why did he not want me in Duelist Academy?"

"He didn't like the fact that a first year might possibly be put into Ra Yellow right away. He felt it was unacceptable. So to prevent it, he decided to duel you. Thinking he could beat you, he figured that you would be sent home and he wouldn't have to worry about the 'honor' of Ra Yellow being affected. As you might know, Osiris Red is for the lowest students, students with either low grades, bad dueling skills, or both. Obelisk Blue is for students with high grades or high dueling skills, or both. And Ra Yellow is the intermediate level, for those who are pretty well balanced in both. Needless to say you are an exceptional duelist and your grades aren't too bad either."

"Thank you," Kokuro said.

"Your grades aren't quite Obelisk Blue but your dueling and your grades far surpass Osiris Red. So, you have been admitted into Ra Yellow."

"You're kidding!" Kokuro said shocked.

"Nope, congratulations Kokuro Samé, you are a Ra Yellow Student at Duelist Academy."

"Thank you so much," Kokuro said smiling.

"Don't thank me, it was you who worked so hard to get there. Now, I've got some things to go over with you. Your dormitory will be in Ra Yellow as I'm sure you know. Due to a large group of Osiris Red students last year, the Ra Yellow dormitory is pretty full and can't be separated by boys one section and girls another. I hope you don't have any problems with a co-ed room."

"No that's fine with me," Kokuro said. "I'll be good I promise," he said smiling.

"There will be guards going around to make sure that no inappropriate behavior goes on in the dormitories. If it is found out that there is, then all parties involved will be sent home immediately."

"No worries there," Kokuro said.

"That's what I wanted to hear. Lets see," he said looking over the papers in the manila folder. "It seems that you will be bunking with two girls, Ms. Sonomi Hinote, and Ms. Mia Notosa. You are in room 34-B. Here is the key to your room," he said passing Kokuro a card key to the room. "Next is your schedule, you will be taking classes with mostly Ra Yellow teachers but there may be some Osiris Red and even some Obelisk Blue students in your classes with you. This is not uncommon so don't feel uncomfortable. You're classes start at 7:30, so don't be late. The Duel Disk you are wearing is now yours to use throughout the rest of the school year. You should always bring it with you to class for when you do practice duels. I'm going to warn you now, you are set up to have classes with Professor Hikari."

"Oh, ok," Kokuro said.

"If he gives you too many problems, just notify us, he should not let his loss to you interfere with his teaching. Lastly, I give you this," he said handing Kokuro a small red machine that reminded him of a mini Palm Pilot. "This is your PDA. It is like a miniature e-mail checker. This will allow you to receive mail from other students and from teachers. It also has a few other abilities like a calculator and things like that but it is mainly used for messages you get from other people in the school. Well, I think that about covers everything. If you will head off to your dormitory now, I have other students I have to attend to. Your Ra Yellow uniform will be in the closet in your room. Congratulations and welcome to Duelist Academy."

He stood up and shook Kokuro's hand. "Thank you sir." Kokuro said. He took his PDA and walked out of the room with his schedule in hand. Kokuro left the main building and worked his way towards the Ra Yellow Dormitory. There were a few students out and about but none of them really paid much attention to him. A few of them noticed him and walked up to him congratulating him but mostly he was ignored. He made his way into the Ra Yellow Dormitory and walked through the halls until he reached room 34-B. 'Home sweet home,' he thought.

Taking a deep breath he slid his card key through the door. It beeped and the green light lit up. He opened the door and walked inside. There was a desk with a lamp on it to the right against the wall. There were three bunk beds on the right and a small dresser to the left of the beds. There was a wooden floor and windows on the far wall with a good view of the island. A girl was sitting at the desk reading a book. Unbeknownst to Kokuro she was the Ra Yellow student who had watched his duel in the audience who swore to make him pay. She looked up at him and immediately stood up knocking down her chair. She glared at him pointing her finger at him. "You! What are you doing in here?" she yelled at him.

"This is my dormitory," Kokuro said a little nervous. "Do I know you?"

"You mean that you were accepted _and_ placed into Ra Yellow!" She yelled at him.

"Yes," Kokuro said wondering what her deal with him was.

"I can't believe it!" she shrieked. "First you beat Professor Hikari and then you come in here and invade this dormitory!"

"Now wait just a moment, what did I do to you to make you get so upset at me?" Kokuro asked getting defensive.

"You ruined me!" she screamed at him.

"What? How could I have ruined you?"

"You blew my chances of getting what I wanted this year!" She shrieked at him. She stormed past him, pushing him out of the way and walked out of the room.

"What is with so many people getting mad at me for being in Ra Yellow?" he asked himself. He began to start unpacking some of his things and looked through the closet at his Ra Yellow uniform. As he was unpacking, a girl with long brown hair and soft blue eyes walked in. She was about Kokuro's height and had a kind smile on her face. "Are you going to yell at me for being in Ra Yellow too?" he asked her.

She looked over startled and then gave another smile, "Sorry, I didn't see you there," she said kindly. Suddenly realization showed on her face, "I know you, you're Kokuro Samé, the only student to ever beat Professor Hikari. It's nice to meet you, I'm Mia Notosa," she said shaking his hand.

"Then that other girl who blew up at me must be Sonomi Hinote," he said.

"Sonomi got upset at you?" she asked. Kokuro nodded and she let out a "hmmm." Suddenly her eyes widened and she gasped. "Of course!" She said.

"What is it?" Kokuro asked.

"Poor Sonomi," Mia said looking worried. "I know why she dislikes you."

"Could you please explain for me since I still don't know why?"

"Sonomi was the best Osiris Red student last year. She had big plans this year to challenge Professor Hikari to a duel. She figured that if she beat him, with his rank being so high, her rank would sky rocket and she would be just a few ranks below Legend. She worked hard through all of Osiris Red to get here. And then you came along and beat the teacher she planned on taking out. I'm sure that now that you have defeated him, she's jealous because she wanted to be the first student to ever defeat him. And now, even if she does beat him, she would have to face off against you as well."

"Wow, I had no idea."

"It's not your fault. You didn't know anything about it, you didn't even know her. I'd say just give her a while to cool off and then try talking to her."

"Yeah I guess so," Kokuro sighed.

It was a little later and Kokuro was laying on his bed, Mia had left to go get dinner, but he wanted to wait for Sonomi to get back. He was in the middle bunk with Sonomi on the top and Mia sleeping on the bottom. He stared up at the ceiling as he waited easily getting restless. Finally he decided to write his sister a letter. He got up and got the pad of paper that he had brought with him from his back pack. Taking out a pen he sat down, turned on the lamp, and began to write.

_Dear Selaya,_

_Guess what, I got in! The duel was really hard, I had to beat the best teacher in Ra Yellow and I won! You're Spell Absorption helped me a whole lot. Guess what else, instead of being placed in Osiris Red, since my grades were so good and I beat the teacher, I got the privilege to be automatically put into Ra Yellow. Amazing isn't it? I was just as shocked as you're probably going to be. But not everything is going well. The teacher, Professor Hikari, didn't like the fact that I got a good grade and _could_ have been placed in Ra Yellow so that's why he dueled me. I'm sure he's still really upset at me. Then there was another girl who got really upset at me. I'm bunking with her in the Ra Yellow Dormitory. She's upset because she wanted to be the first student to beat Professor Hikari. She has a big..._

Suddenly the door opened and Kokuro looked up to see Sonomi walking through the door. She glared at him and let out a "humph!"

"Sonomi," he said standing up.

"You realize I don't like you right?"

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry. Mia told me about your plans to defeat Professor Hikari, but you can't hold that against me. Its not like I chose to duel him. He wanted to duel me."

"You think that's all this is about?" She asked angrily.

"You mean you are mad at me for another reason?" Kokuro asked.

"Of course!" She said yelling at him. "I had to work to get where I am today. I'm one of the best known duelists in the entire school. I was practically an Osiris Red Legend! I worked my ass off my first year in there to get known! I had to _work _to get into Ra Yellow. I had to _prove _myself. And here you came, and all you had to do was defeat one person and you gained instant fame! I was down in the cafeteria and all I heard was, 'did you hear about the kid who beat Professor Hikari?' Or, 'wow, you should have seen that kid who beat Professor Hikari duel. It was amazing.'"

"Sonomi, you can't hold this against me. It's not like I wanted to become famous. I wanted to get into Duelist Academy so I did my best."

"I can understand wanting to get into Duelist Academy, what I can't understand is why just because you beat the best Ra Yellow teacher you instantly get into Ra Yellow! It's not like you worked as hard as I did to get here!"

"So you're upset because you feel I took the easy way out?"

"So he has been listening!" she said with fake amazement.

"Do you know how hard I tried on that entrance exam?" he asked her. "I worked hard on that, I practiced with my best friends and studied with them to give myself the best chance I had of getting here. I had no idea how hard it would be so I really worked my butt off. And in the end I'm glad I studied so hard because had I not I would have failed. I never expected a test about a game to be as hard as that. So I most certainly did not take any easy way out."

"If you meant _any _of that then you would go tell the administration that you want to start out in Osiris Red."

"No way!" Kokuro said. "I worked hard to get here and the teachers here acknowledged that. I'm not going to lose this opportunity."

"Then you _are_ just taking the easy way out," she said growling.

"Listen, I'm sorry you feel this way, but I won't miss out on this chance." Suddenly Kokuro heard a beeping sound. He looked over at his bed to see that his PDA was beeping. He walked over to it and picked it up. He flipped it open and the screen said that he had one new message. He clicked _read_ and his message popped up.

_Thank you,_

_-Ami._

He was surprised at how short it was. 'Who's Ami?' he thought to himself. 'And why is she thanking me?'

"Listen," Kokuro turned around to see Sonomi staring at him. "Just stay out of my way. I don't want you talking to me." She then turned around and left. Kokuro stood there wondering if he should go after her or leave her alone. He turned to see his letter still sitting on the desk. Figuring he should respect what Sonomi had said he sat back down at his desk and continued his letter.

_...grudge against me. She also feels that I have taken an easy way out since I got immediately placed into Ra Yellow. I don't know what will happen but I sure hope everything turns out well. On a lighter note, my other roommate's name is Mia, and she seems to be a very friendly girl. Maybe her and I will become good friends. On a stranger note my PDA, a device that allows me to get messages from other students here at the academy, started beeping telling me I had a message. I read the message and it was from someone named Ami. All it said was "Thank you." I wonder who she is and why she is thanking me. Well, I hope to hear from you soon. The ceremony for new students is tonight. I'm supposed to wear my Ra Yellow uniform tonight. I have to get ready. Let Mom and Dad see this letter after you are done reading it. I love you very much._

_Kokuro_.

Kokuro folded up the letter and placed it in an envelope. Grabbing his uniform out of the closet he went off to get a quick bath in the boys bath house. He dressed up in his uniform and then inspected himself in the mirror. It was a mostly all yellow outfit with the exception of a white collar and white cuffs. He combed his hair and inspected himself once more. It looked good on him even though he had always been told that red looked better on him. Shrugging he went back into the room.

Mia was in the room in her Ra Yellow uniform brushing her hair. Kokuro had noticed that he thought both Mia and Sonomi were pretty girls, but due to Sonomi having a grudge against him his mind made him think that Mia was prettier. Mia did have a cuter face though, there was no doubt about that. "Hey," she said when he walked in. "You make that look good," she said laughing.

He gave a small chuckle, "thanks," he said. "You're not too bad yourself."

"Well thank you," she said to him.

"So how does this thing normally go?" Kokuro asked. "You told me a bit about it earlier but didn't go into great detail."

"Well, basically all the first years stand up on a stage and Seto Kaiba welcomes back all the people who were here last year."

"Wait, Seto Kaiba, as in the head of the Kaiba Corporation?"

"Yup. He was the one who founded the Duelist Academy school. This was the first one he built, and so in a kind of memorial he watches over this one. So anyway, he will welcome back the old students and then he'll give a short little speech welcoming the first years. After that he gives a small speech on the first day and how most things will go. He doesn't go into too much detail about rank or anything but he does invite the highest ranking students of each year, the Obelisk Blue Student, the Ra Yellow Student, and then the first year with either the highest test score or the best dueling score."

"So...I'm going to be sitting next to Sonomi then?"

"Yup!" Mia said with a wide smile on her face. "I'll remind her before she goes up that if she kills you she'll get expelled."

"Thanks a lot," Kokuro said glumly to which Mia laughed.

"Well, I guess I'll see you there," Mia said walking past Kokuro. "Good luck." She walked out the door and Kokuro sighed. He walked over to his bed and climbed up the ladder a bit to grab his green Deck Box. It felt more comfortable to him with that at his side. He clipped it onto his belt and then walked out the door. He walked down to the assembly hall and started walking up the stairs for the stage.

A security guard grabbed his shoulder turning him around. "Sorry kid, only first years are allowed up there. You have to sit in the audience."

Kokuro let out a sigh. "I _am_ a first year," he said.

"Oh, you're that Kokuro kid. The Higher Ups told me I could admit you." Kokuro went up onto the stage and looked for a place to sit. He noticed that the chairs all had names on them and searched all the rows getting strange stairs from the others already sitting there. Finally he noticed three chairs next to the podium. He walked over and found his name, and next to his seat he also found Sonomi sitting in her Ra Yellow uniform. He sat down and took a deep breath. Sonomi didn't say anything to him as he sat down. She just kept her arms folded and looked out into the audience. An Obelisk Blue student found his way down the rows into the seat next to Kokuro.

They sat in silence as the audience got into the room. Finally Seto Kaiba made his way up to the podium. He glanced over at the three sitting there in silence before he hushed everyone in the audience. "Greetings and welcome to Duelist Academy. It is nice to see all of your eager faces again. As you all remember from your first times being here this is the assembly where we welcome all the first years who made it through the entrance exams to be here with us tonight. I expect that you will all show nothing but utmost respect to them. I know that there have been problems in the past between the higher dorms and the lower dorms. I don't expect you to be best of friends, but I will not tolerate bullying."

"Now, I would like to welcome all the first years. First off I want you all to be glad you made it in. Some of the people you came on the ship with were sent home. You were the best of the bunch, and some of you showed exceptional skills in both parts of the exams. Tomorrow you will all be assigned to your first classes. You will meet all your teachers and they will go over what you will be doing during your time here. I expect you to all be well behaved for your teachers, and to learn from them. Remember, it isn't so much your rank that counts, it's what you learn while you are here that is truly important."

He then turned towards the three students sitting next to the podium, "However, that doesn't mean that rank doesn't have its rewards," he said smiling. Sitting next to me on my right are three exceptional students. I would like them to stand up now." Sonomi, Kokuro, and the Obelisk Blue student stood up. Kokuro felt a little weird getting all this attention. "The first student is from our Obelisk Blue Dormitory, Kazuki Ishahaka. This Obelisk Blue Student has been with us for three years. He is an exceptional test taker and a pretty good duelist at that. He has beaten most that have come in his way and he had the highest grades of all of Ra Yellow last year."

"The next student is Ra Yellow Student Sonomi Hinote. She beat every student and teacher in Osiris Red last year and even took on a few Ra Yellow students, and two Obelisk Blue Students, and won against all of them. Her dueling has earned her quite a high position, and is close to being considered a Legend in this school."

"Finally, the last student worthy of being noticed, a first year who has been placed into Ra Yellow, Kokuro Samé. He has broken two records, on only his first day. The first was scoring the highest score of any first year ever to come to Duelist Academy with an overwhelming 83."

'It's not that high,' Kokuro thought to himself a little embarrassed. Unknown to him Sonomi had just thought the same thing.

"The second record he broke was being the first student duelist ever to defeat the Ra Yellow teacher Professor Hikari." Some of the students in the audience gasped as Sonomi clenched her fists together and began growling softly. "Due to his outstanding test score and his excellent dueling he has been immediately placed into Ra Yellow. Congratulations Kokuro Samé." The Osiris Red Students and the audience began applauding for him. He looked over to see Sonomi practically ready to blow, he felt really guilty about it even though he knew he had no reason to. "Now, I want all students to get a good nights sleep so that you can all be ready for your day tomorrow. Sleep well and good luck.

Kaiba then shook Kazuki's, Sonomi's and Kokuro's hands. He then walked off the stage and the audience members and the three "stars" all began to leave the auditorium and head back to their dormitories. Sonomi tried to keep her distance from Kokuro while other people came up and congratulated him. He would say 'thank you' and try to get away but they just kept coming. After 5 minutes a familiar face came up to him to greet him.

"Mia!" he said shocked as she came up shaking his hand.

"Oh Kokuro, you're so awesome, will you teach me how to duel?" She then began hugging him extremely tightly. Sensing that they weren't going to be talking to Kokuro tonight the rest of the crowd dispersed and left the two alone. When it was safe Mia let go of him and winked at him. "Well, I figured if I acted like some stupid fan girl it would get them off of you. I guess I figured correctly."

Kokuro started nervously laughing, "yeah thanks. So, I guess its time for bed?"

"Well…"she began. "If you want to know the truth, Kaiba doesn't mention this because he doesn't want the first years to screw up their first day, but there is a little, 'See your old friends,' type of thing for the Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue students. Since your technically Ra Yellow you could probably get in it if you want. But it would also mean running into all the people who will be congratulating you."

"I think I'll pass then," Kokuro said walking back towards their dorm.

"I thought you would. You're not into the whole fame thing are you?"

"No, not really, I'll admit it. It's embarrassing really," he said looking up. "I mean, it's kind of cool being known and recognized for your skills, but when people keep congratulating you and won't leave you alone, it makes me wonder how celebrity's do it."

Mia laughed a bit, "Yeah really. Well, if you don't want it to bother you, then just remember that you are here to have fun and to get better. Even though you seem pretty good to me."

Kokuro gave a defeated sigh, "thanks for your congrats."

"I guess you saw through that didn't you?" she chuckled as Kokuro nodded. "Either way, I do have a question, you said that you wanted to come here to have fun…was that always your main intention?"

"Well, I wanted to come here alone so that I could get better originally. I didn't want to have to worry about impressing my friends or anything. I always had fun dueling them and dueling _is _fun so I already intended to have fun. I used to hate losing until I met my friends and then I wasn't so upset with it anymore. And once I got past that I began to get better. So I wanted to come here to get even better than I was, but my friend and dad kept reminding me to have fun, even before it was time to come here and finally it just sort of became my thing. Try your hardest, but whether you win or lose have fun. So I came here with the intention of having fun even if there were people better than me here. I figured that making new friends would probably come as time went on, and the other two things I wanted to accomplish would join together."

"What do you mean?" Mia asked completely immersed into their conversation.

"Well, my third and fourth reasons were to improve my skills to get better, and then to prove myself to my friends back home. Which will be easy because if I improve then I will already have proven that I have what it takes to win. So making friends will be pretty easy…I hope. Maybe now that I'm in a different school type of setting, and no one knows me, making friends will come much more naturally, and remembering to have fun is easy too." Mia looked at him, wondering what he meant by the friends comment, but he started talking again before she could answer. "So, I guess to answer your question, my main intention is to get better but I want to make sure that I'm having fun while I do that. Having fun is the most important thing anyway."

"Well that's cool that you can look at it that way," Mia said smiling and looking at the sky. "One more thing, you got upset when he called your Magician Cards pathetic. Why did you get so upset?"

"Because the Magicians are my favorite kind of card. I can tell that he likes Light Types and I'm sure he would get upset if I insulted his cards. Now, this might sound a little hypocritical but hear me out first. I want to be known as the best Magician Duelist in the world. I want to have the best Magician Deck out there, but that doesn't mean I want everyone surrounding me and obsessing over me."

"No I understand what you mean. You want the best deck but you don't want to have fans screaming your name."

"Exactly. I wouldn't mind having fans or admirers but not rabid fans who try to strangle you," he shot a quick glance towards her. She put on a sheepish smile and held up a peace sign. He chuckled, "And I guess becoming the best duelist here in the academy would be cool and if it happens and I become well known so be it. I'll duel anyone who wants to duel and I'd enjoy it the whole way, but that isn't my major priority."

"But it would be cool?" she said emphasizing 'cool' and looking up at him with a sly smile.

He laughed and defeated he said, "Yeah, it would be cool."

"Just keep your priorities in check," she said punching his arm slightly. By this time they had reached the Ra Yellow Dormitory. They walked through the halls just talking about random things until they walked into their room. "Well, I'm going to go say hi to some of my old friends at the party."

"Alright, I think I'm going to go to bed," Kokuro said stretching out in a yawn. "I'm sleepy," he said in a childish voice. "I've had a hard day."

Mia laughed and gave him a hug, causing him to blush a bit. "Sleep well, I took a look at your schedule and noticed that your going to need it. Putting up with Professor Hikari first thing in the morning when he doesn't like you to begin with is defiantly something you need a good nights sleep for."

"Yeah, thanks," he said hugging her back thinking it was only proper. They let go and she walked out the door. Kokuro got his pajamas that were given to the students and put them on in the small bathroom. He got out and climbed up the ladder into his bunk bed. He enjoyed the softness of the bed and eagerly made his way underneath the covers of the bed. Resting his head on his pillow he slowly let his eyes close. Five minutes later he heard the beeping of his PDA. He got off the bed and picked it up. Clicking 'read' he looked at the message.

_Forgot to say Congratulations._

_-Ami._

'Who is this Ami?' Kokuro wondered. 'I can understand wanting to congratulate me but why did she say 'thank you' the first time?' This confused him but he figured he would meet up with this Ami person soon enough. He got back into his bed and laid down. About an hour or so later he awoke to the door opening. Looking over he saw Sonomi and Mia coming in. Mia looked over to him and gave him a small finger wave. He acknowledged her with a smile and a nod. Sonomi looked up at him with a slight glare. Kokuro wasn't sure but he thought it wasn't as mean as it was before. He shrugged it off, 'Don't think she's getting soft Kokuro, she's probably just tired.'

The two girls took turns in getting into their pajama's and then went into their respective bunks. Kokuro looked to the wall when Sonomi went into her bunk but could still feel the glare she was giving him. Once she was in her bunk he got comfortable again. 'Here's to an interesting year,' he thought sarcastically and pretended to toast with a wine glass. He closed his eyes and fell back to sleep within minutes of closing his eyes.


	4. The First Day

Sdrive: If I owned it I would FORCE 4 kids to keep the original Japanese names, I mean really…Chummly Huffington? Princeton? Their not from England for Ra's sake. Not that Hayota is a good character anyway, but MANJOUME THUNDER FOREVER!

* * *

Kokuro awoke to someone rubbing his shoulder gently. He turned around to see Mia staring at his face. He buried his head into his pillow. "5 more minutes," he said muffled.

Mia looked sad, "And I thought seeing a girl in your bed when you first woke up would startle you and cause you to freak out."

"Ushed to Shelaya doing it," came the muffled response.

"Is this Shelaya your girlfriend?"

"Muh Shishter, now go ahwhay."

"Well fine, but it won't be my fault when you are late to your first class," she said jumping off the ladder.

Kokuro shot up out of his bed, "What time is it!" he nearly shouted.

"Late enough for an amateur like you to be late," came a reply from above. Sonomi then jumped down from her bed and landed next to Mia fully clothed. "Well, are you going to lay in bed all day? Or are you going to actually prove that you belong in Ra Yellow?"

"Hey, I'm used to sleeping in alright?" he said as he jumped down from his bed, grabbed a uniform from the closet, and dashed into the bathroom. He came out and Mia along with Sonomi burst out laughing in a fit of hysteria. "What are you two laughing at?"

"Oh high and mighty duelist," Sonomi mocked, "he can't even figure out when he's put on the wrong uniform."

Kokuro looked down to notice he had indeed put on the _girls_ uniform. "GAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Ten minutes later the group was running towards the academies main building. "First I oversleep, then I put on a girls uniform.After all thatbreakfast was pretty much sold out so all I got was stale bread that had been sitting out too long, a bit of peanut butter, and a carton of milk." Mia who was smiling at Kokuro and taking pity on him noticed something that made her gasp. "If you tell me I'm still wearing a skirt…"

"No, it's not that. But, don't you always keep your green deck box on theright side on your belt?"

"Yeah, so?"

"It's not on your belt."

Kokuro completely stopped, and looked down at his belt, sure enough his deck box wasn't there. "DAMN!" he yelled dropping down to his knees and slamming his fists on the ground.

"If I didn't think you deserved it, then I would probably feel bad for you right now," Sonomi said with a hint of anger in her voice. "But this just proves that you don't have what it takes to be in Ra Yellow."

"I couldn't agree more Miss Hinote," came a rather familiar voice from behind them. They turned to see Professor Hikari standing there looking down at Kokuro. "It looks like you'll be starting off with a bad grade this year."

"There's still enough time to make it!" Kokuro said standing up suddenly. He turned around and started running back towards the Ra Yellow Dormitory.

"If you are not back by the time I start class expect to have a detention," Professor Hikari said calling out to him.

"Good luck!" Mia called back as she ran off to try to get to class on time.

Sonomi turned around and walked towards the academy but not before glaring at Professor Hikari. 'I will still beat you,' she said in her mind as she walked off.

Kokuro ran for his life to get back to his dormitory. 'I can't screw this up, I'll be the laughing stock of the whole school.' Suddenly he tripped and fell as he started going down the hill. He rolled down it crashing into something blue knocking the said blue thing to the ground with a loud thud and an even louder "OUCH!"

Kokuro looked down to notice that he had rolled over an Obelisk Blue student, 'oh damn it! I'm in it deep now,' he thought. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" he said while trying to collect the things the other student had dropped.

"Hey no problem," the boy said standing up picking his things up. "It's the first day of school, happens to a lot of people." He was a boy who looked to be a head taller than Kokuro. He had soft blue eyes and short brown hair. He looked down at the boy who had tripped him and smiled. "I know you, you're that Kokuro guy who defeated Professor Hikari."

"Yeah," he said handing the student his books. "And I have Professor H. first thing this period and I just realized I left my deck back at the Ra Yellow Dormitory. Now I'm going to get that detention for sure."

"Hey kid relax, Professor Hikari is just a mean teacher that's too cocky for his own good. It was about time someone put him in his place. I tried last year and failed horribly."

"That's nice but I don't have the time to talk."

Suddenly a loud rumbling was heard coming over the hill. It sounded like a rider mower, the kind people stood on to cut grass that normally goes fast. "HEY! HITOKU!" the student called out. Somehow the guy riding the mower saw the student waving his hands and rode towards the two.

"What's up Yaku?" the guy asked the Obelisk Blue student.

"My brotheren needeth to geteth to the Ra Yellow Dormitory or he shalt face the wrath of Sir Professor Hikari!" Yaku said dramatically.

They guy named Hitoku laughed. "Yeah sure hop on." Yaku got onto the right side of the mower and motioned for Kokuro to get on. "You want to get your deck or not?" he asked smiling wide.

"Um…yeah," Kokuro said getting on to the left side of the mower.

"Well then hold on tight boys because I'm cranking this thing up to turbo! YEE HA!" With that the guy put it into motion and they flew down the hill towards the Ra Yellow Dormitory.

"Um…are you sure this is ok?" Kokuro asked.

"Of course, I help Hitoku all the time whenever his mowers break so he always helps me get someplace fast enough. Bye the way, my name is Yaku."

"Nice to meAHT!" he cried as they hit a bump. They landed and kept riding. "Nice ta meet ya," he said a little wobbly. They stopped in front of the doors and Kokuro and Yaku ran into the dormitory. "Why are you helping me like this?" Kokuro asked while they ran through the halls.

"Because it's fun," he replied back. "Also because like I said earlier you taught Professor Hikari a lesson. Besides, not every Obelisk Blue student is a jerk." They got to the room where Kokuro ran inside and in three seconds was back out. They ran back towards the doors and hopped back onto the mower. "Lets kick it into gear Hitoku!" With that the mower roared to life and it shot up the hill towards the academy.

"Aren't you going to be late too?" Kokuro asked.

"Nah, first period is Study!"

They rode on with Kokuro smiling and thinking about the sheer craziness of riding on a lawn mower to get to class. "I owe ya big time," Kokuro said. They got to the academy building in record time and got off. Kokuro said a quick thanks and ran into the building.

"Don't mention it!" Yaku said waving.

Kokuro ran through the halls as fast as he could. 'I can't believe how insane that was. It was totally awesome though,' he thought smiling. He found his classroom and ran into it finding the first empty seat available and sitting in it. He started breathing heavily and looked up at Professor Hikari smirking at him. The bell rang signaling the start of class. "Looks…like…I made it," he gasped out.

"I'll be seeing you after class." Professor Hikari said still smirking at him.

"What!" Kokuro called out. "You said if I wasn't here by the time class started then I would get a detention. The bell just rang and I was here."

"Then you heard wrong. I said if you weren't here by the time _I _started class. I start a minute early each day, before the rest of the school. Looks like you lose." He walked down the stairs towards his white board.

'I can't believe it!' Kokuro thought in his mind. 'That's so damn wrong!' he heard a humph right next to him. He turned to see Sonomi was sitting right next to him with her pen scribbling down notes. 'Oh you have _got _to be kidding me!' he thought as he put his head down on the table in front of him.

"That will be an extra 30 minutes of detention for sleeping in class Mr. Samé," Professor Hikari said while scribbling something on a note in front of his desk. Kokuro just kept his head down and groaned.

The rest of the day wasn't nearly such a disaster, except for lunch when people either made fun of him for his tardiness or praised him for his dueling skills. He spent his detention listening to Hikari rant about how tardiness would not be acceptable and how if he slept again in class he would have to bring it up to Master Kaiba. On top of that he was then forced to write a summery of everything Professor Hikari had mentioned, which took him well over his detention time. Bye the time he was done with his detention he was stumbling through the halls with exhaustion. Finally he just decided to give up on trying to move and sank down to the floor and let out a sigh.

"So much for being in good with the teachers," he said to himself. He just sat there for half an hour, not bothering to move.

"Oh just get up," said a female voice. Kokuro turned to see Sonomi standing over him. "I've been watching you for the past 5 minutes just sulking, not moving at all. It's an embarrassment to all of Ra Yellow.

"Just go away," he said to her softly.

"What was that?" she asked angrily.

"I said just go away," he said annoyed.

"And why should I?"

"Because you hate me for a reason only you seem to understand and I've had a bad enough day as it is. I'll be putting up with you later on tonight and I don't need this right now."

"Oh, so it's my fault you are an embarrassment to Ra…"

"Just shut up already!" Kokuro yelled standing up. "I just told you I had a bad day and all you care about is rubbing it in my face. If you don't want to talk to me I'll respect that but why you keep bothering to point out all my obvious mistakes when you said you don't want to talk to me is beyond me. I know I screwed up this morning, Professor Hikari pointed that out well enough thanks so much!" She let out a humph but Kokuro just picked his things up and stormed off.

Mia walked up to Sonomi with an expression of sadness and worried-ness. "I guess that could have gone better."

Kokuro stormed into the shared room and slammed the door shut. He placed the chain lock on the doorso that no one would be able toopen it.He then crawled up into his bed and flopped down onto it with his face in the pillow. Five minutes later he heard a banging on the door. "OPEN THIS DOOR!" Sonomi's voice yelled from the other side.

"Go away!" Kokuro called back. He heard a scream, what sounded like a foot kicking the door, and loud stomping sounds which deteriorated away from the door.

A kinder, softer voice then came from the other side. "Kokuro, could you please open the door so that I can get my bath stuff?" With a sigh Kokuro reluctantly got down and removed the chain opening the door for Mia. "Thanks," she said softly as she went to get her things. Kokuro put the chair back at the desk and headed back towards his bed. "You know, Sonomi isn't such a bad person if you get to know her."

"That's the thing!" Kokuro said annoyed. "She won't let me! All she can think about is how horrible I've made her life."

"I know," came Mia's reply. She walked towards Kokuro with her things and Sonomi's and wrapped her arms around him. "I know its hard for you, but try to stick it through."

"Thanks," Kokuro said calmly, not thinking more of the hug than it being a comforting one.

"I have an idea that _might _defuse her bomb a bit, but I need to talk to her about it. Stay strong Kokuro." With that she let go, picked up the bath things and walked out the door.

Kokuro thought that a bath sounded like a great idea. He got his things together and walked out to the bath house. It was like a giant heated pool but it reminded him more of a lake in the middle of a forest. There were trees all around and there were large rocks, in the water. He waded in and was startled by how hot it was. Normally he wouldn't be sure if he would be able to take the heat but it felt so relaxing to him that he didn't care. He cleansed his body and then spent half an hour just relaxing and letting the heat take away his stress.Laying there he seemed to have completely forgotten about the entire day except for the lawnmower ride. 'Still one of the craziest things I ever did.'

Just then a voice in the back of his mind reminded him that it wasn't as crazy as the time he and Yamato were sword fighting in Yamato's back yard. He had managed to get himself accidentally stabbed between his ring and little finger on his left hand. Surprisingly though it hadn't been directly between them since the scar appeared to be more on thelittle fingeritself. 'No,' he thought to himself. 'That was just stupid, not crazy.' He chuckled looking at the scar. He sighed and went back to relaxing. After another 10 minutes he decided to get out and head back to the room. He changed into his pajamas and walked back to the room. When he got there he opened the door to find Sonomi and Mia waiting there for him.

"Well, look who finally came back," Sonomi said smirking.

'Oh boy,' Mia thought to herself.

"Hello," Kokuro said almost absentmindedly. He was too relaxed to notice the smirk on her face.

"Mia has come up with an excellent idea. She told me about what you two talked about last night and has come up with a way for you to truly prove yourself." To this Kokuro turned his head and started paying more attention. "I agree that nothing will ever get done if we just keep yelling at each other and having insignificant fights. So her idea is that you and I duel it out. If you win, I'll recognize you as worthy enough of being in Ra Yellow. And if I win, you have to talk to the administration and be moved out of our room. I realize I can't do anything about you being in Ra Yellow, but I can do something about you being in our room. So, what do you say?" Mia looked shocked but before she could say anything Kokuro spoke up.

"I agree to your terms."

"Good, Tomorrow after class in the Ra Yellow Dueling Arena is where we will have our duel. You had better be there."

"Oh, I will be," Kokuro said.

"Good, prepare to lose." Mia looked like she had something to say but then looked like she thought better of it. After that they all went about their business until it was time for bed. Kokuro knew that tomorrow would be another hectic day.


	5. Proof Of Strength, Kokuro VS Sonomi

Sdrive: Not mine to claim ownership of.

* * *

Kokuro awoke to the sound of a PDA beeping. He reached into his jacket pocket to reach the PDA but was startled to find it was not his beeping for once.Hearinga yawn from below him he looked down to hear a switch being pressed, and the PDAstopped. He saw Mia rise from her underneath his bunk and go into the bathroom. Kokuro crawled off the ladder and grabbed his jacket.Wrapping it around his shouldershe waited for Mia to come out. She was startled when she saw him standing there. "Well good morning Mr. Late Riser," she said chuckling. "What brings you up so early?"

"Your PDA," he said chuckling.

"Oh, that," she said laughing a bit, clearly not yet awake.

"So, it looked like you had something to talk to me about? Yesterday when Sonomi was telling us the terms of our duel."

"Yeah, yesterday when Sonomi mentioned my idea, she didn't really tell the whole truth."

"She didn't?" Kokuro asked a little surprised.

"No, my idea only went as far as what would happen if you won. She came up with what would happen if you lost all by herself."

"I see," he said. Then he smiled a bit, "Oh well, nothing I can do about it now. I made a promise and if I don't want her to think I'm a coward then I'll stick with the promise I made. If I lose I'll change rooms."

"But…that's not fair since that's not what the idea was!"

"But you see, it wouldn't have been fair if she was risking something and I wasn't. If I had won, she would have to deem me worthy to be in Ra Yellow. But if I lost, then all she would have is the knowing that she beat me. Then again, I guess that's enough there, but it still wouldn't mean as much. If I win, I'll have proven myself, and if I lose, then it's only a room. Nothing to get too upset about, but it will still be the price I have to pay."

"But what about me? Won't you miss me?"

"Well yeah, but you're in two of my classes, I'll get to see you there," he said smiling. His face changed more determined, "Now, I want to be in front of the line for breakfast this morning. I'm hungry!" With that he got changed into his uniform and walked down to the cafeteria. He got his breakfast and started to prep himself up. "I gotta make sure I give it my best today. I don't want her angry at me all the time, so if I do my best, even if I lose, maybe that will be enough for her to see that I still have what it takes. I just have to remember to have fun with it."

First period soon came and Kokuro had made it to his class well before it was time to be there. Professor Hikari was startled when he came walking in so early. "I must say I didn't expect that you could ever be on time," he said to Kokuro with a sneer. "You must want to sit next to your friend." He said.

Confused he looked up at his seat and next to it was Sonomi reading a book. "Wow, she's here earlier than I was," he said a little shocked. He headed up the stairs and took his seat next to her. He glanced over at her but she paid him no mind. He sighed and went to reading the book that he had with him on the boat. She glanced over at the book and chuckled a bit. He looked at her and asked, "What's so funny?"

"Just that that's the book _I _used to study from to get into this school."

"Great minds…" he began.

"Don't flatter yourself," she said annoyed and went back to her own book.

'So much for that joke,' he thought. The class started and Professor Hikari began his lecturing.

"Today's class will be about strategy. Does anyone know of a good strategy, or one that they tend to use often?" Kokuro and Sonomi where the only ones who raised their hand right away. "Go ahead Sonomi."

Sonomi stood up, "If you find that your deck doesn't run a lot of a certain type of card but most other decks do then play cards that work more against your opponent than your own. Say you don't play many spells, cards like Curse of Darkness can really do damage to your opponent since most decks have multiple spells and yours doesn't."

"Good strategy. Making what one person considers a deck's weakness into a strength. Anyone else?" Kokuro again raised his hand. "Very well, lets see what you can come up with Mr. Samé."

"Well, this is a take off something I used to play and then tweaked to make it better. I call it the 'Invincible Hane Kuriboh.' Basically how it works is you combine a Hane Kuriboh with a Riryoku Spell Card. You get to overpower one of your opponents stronger monsters with a card not normally seen played in attack mode. It can destroy the monster and then on the next turn, even if they attack Hane Kuriboh, you won't take any damage due to Hane Kuriboh's special ability. It used to be just the 'Invincible Kuriboh Combo' but once I found out about Hane Kuriboh I figured that was better."

Professor Hikari gave a small smile, "Very well. As much as I hate to admit it that is a pretty nice combo. But wouldn't it be easier to use a Black Flare Knight?" He asked.

"Well then you have to have all the fusion material monsters. Or you have to sacrifice a stronger monster in order to use Metamorphosis. It takes too much time to get it out where as Hane Kuriboh is quick and simple. Especially if your opponents monster is something like Android Psycho Shocker, then your ability of getting back your Trap Cards would probably be more rewarding then doing 300 points of damage to their Life Points. Also Black Flare Knight only prevents battle damage against itself. Hane Kuriboh protects you from all battle damage you take the turn it's destroyed."

"I must say, I am impressed, you do seem to know quite a bit. Any other strategies?"

"None that wouldn't give away more secrets about my deck, or what I might start using."

"Clever boy, in any case, those were three fine examples of strategy."

"Three Sensei?" Sonomi asked.

"Yes, he mentioned Metamorphosis. Usually you would have to fuse a Black Magician and a Flame Swordsman together in order to summon Black Flare Knight. And as you know that would require fusing two weaker monsters for Flame Swordsman unless you were using a substitute monster for fusion like Goddess of the Third Eye or something along those lines. So when he mentioned Metamorphosis it is a clever way of bringing out that Black Flare Knight or that Flame Swordsman for the fusion summoning. Although I may still not think he's completely acceptable for Ra Yellow, I must admit that he has an open eye to possibilities."

Kokuro sat down feeling pleased with himself while Sonomi began getting angry. 'I can't believe he impressed Professor Hikari!' The rest of the class went on with Professor Hikari pointing out various strategies and the such. Once class was over everyone was dismissed for their next class. Kokuro had Practice Duels. A class dedicated to dueling to test strengths and weaknesses in decks. And since it was for the sake of the education, the duels never affected rank. Kokuro got to only duel once and the rest he watched. He was pleased when he won his duel. He thought it was a good warm up for the duel to come.

The rest of the day passed by without too much happening. He was in one class that made him feel slightly foolish. At one point of the class they had to do something called Draw Exercises. All the duelists would stand up with their deck in their Duel Disk and count to three and then draw a card from their duel disk by taking it and pulling away from the disk quickly. 'I already know how to draw cards, what's the deal with drawing it this way?' This confounded him and when it was over he decided not to dwell on it. The only good thing about the class was the fact he had it with Mia and they could partner up to study.

Finally the big event of the day came. The classes were over and it was time to put his dueling skills to the test and face off against Sonomi. He took a deep breath and made his way to the Ra Yellow Dueling Arena. His deck at his side and his Duel Disk on his wrist he was ready to try his hardest. He noticed others walking in through side doors and taking places in seats in the audience. He walked to the arena and took his place. "What's with all the people?" He asked Sonomi who was already in the arena.

"Everyone flocks in the stadiums nowadays to watch my duels," she said. "Besides, you, the only duelist to ever beat Professor Hikari, and me, the girl who's rank is almost at Legend, who would want to miss this?"

"Come on guys!" Mia called from the sidelines. "Winner gets a free booster pack! So try your hardest!"

"Is that how these things always go?" Kokuro asked kind of surprised at Mia's enthusiasm.

"No," Sonomi said. "That was just her own little thing that she decided to do for this Duel," she said smiling a little at her friend. Then her face turned serious, "but it doesn't matter, because I'll get that booster pack and I'll also get the bigger prize, not having to worry about sleeping in the same room with you anymore."

"And when I win, I gain your respect."

"As if you can beat me. Its time to duel!" They placed their decks into their Duel Disks and watched as the Duel Disks folded out.

"Ladies first," Kokuro said.

"I planned on it," she said drawing her card. 'Excellent hand,' she thought to herself. "I set one monster on guard and I'll lay two cards under the table. Turn end."

"My turn then," Kokuro said drawing his card.

"Reverse Trap," Sonomi called out. "Curse of Darkness, and if you're wondering I chained it to your draw phase."

"Not what I was wondering at all, but good try anyway," he said laughing. 'What I _am_ wondering about is that Curse of Darkness. She mentioned it in class today, I know it has something to do with Spell Cards, but what?' "I begin my turn by summoning Skilled Black Magician!" Kokuro called out placing his card on the Duel Disk. The magician in black robes with the long silver staff appeared. (1900/1700) Go Skilled Black Magician, attack her monster!" The magician gathered power in its staff and blasted it at the card. A reptile with an inflated body appeared on the field and took the attack. (500/1900)

"You attacked my Balloon Lizard, and since it's defense is as strong as your attack neither is destroyed."

"A good move," Kokuro commented. "I'll finish by laying a card under the table and end my turn."

Sonomi drew her card and looked down at it. As she did this her Balloon Lizard sucked in some air and got a bit bigger. "If you are wondering, it is part of my Balloon Lizards effect. But you'll find out about that later. First I will set a card under the table and end my turn."

Kokuro drew his card and looked at Sonomi's Balloon Lizard. 'I wonder what it does,' Kokuro thought to himself. "Well, I'd hate to disappoint you, but I'm afraid I have to get rid of your Balloon Lizard. So I activate Mage Power! Not only will my Skilled Black Magician gain an extra 1000 attack points but it will also give my Magician a Spell Counter." (2900/2700) Suddenly Sonomi's trap card began to glow. A circle of lightning appeared around Kokuro and he was zapped by it. His life points dropped by 1000. (7000) "What just happened?" Kokuro weezed.

"You activating a Spell Card in turn activated the effect of my Curse of Darkness. Every time a player activates a Spell Card my Trap Card will do 1000 points of damage to the controller of the Spell Card."

"So that's what you meant in class today!" Kokuro said with realizing what was happening.

"Yes, Curse of Darkness is a trap that works wonders when playing with a deck with few spells that need to be activated. And as we all saw in your duel with Professor Hikari you love to play Spells, so this is the perfect card to use against you. It is also the perfect card to use against him."

"That's true, but with the ability of being able to destroy your defensive monster and powering up my Magician, a cost of 1000 Life Points doesn't concern me. Now go Skilled Black Magician, attack her Balloon Lizard!"

"Reverse Trap, Draining Shield!" Suddenly a barrier appeared around her and the blast of magic hit the barrier. Suddenly Sonomi's Life Points started to increase. (10900) "My Draining Shield negates your attack and increases my Life Points by the number of attack points your monster has."

"No way!" Kokuro said amazed. "So, I lost 1000 Life Points only to give you 2900!" There were people who were cheering for Sonomi and others who were cheering for Kokuro.

"Keep fighting you guys!" Mia said waving the booster pack in the air. "But remember to have fun with it!"

Sonomi started to get all riled up, "You dirty double crossing back-stabbing traitor! You're cheering for him aren't you!" she screamed uncontrollably. "Don't you lie because I can see past your subliminal messages!"

Mia only laughed and shook it off, "You are pretty funny you know that Somomi? Anyway on with the duel!"

Kokuro was laughing, he could tell that Mia was trying to break the tension of the duel. "I'll set one monster on guard and end my turn," he said as the card appeared on his side of the field.

Sonomi drew her card and looked down at it. The Balloon Lizard inhaled again growing bigger causing Sonomi to smile. "I'll Summon Solar Flare Dragon!" she said as a large flaming snake like dragon appeared on the field. (1500/1000) "Once I end my turn It's special ability will activate and you will automatically lose 500 Life Points. So I will end my turn now." The dragon formed a fire ball in it's mouth and shot it at Kokuro. (6500)

"I can't give up," Kokuro said drawing. "I summon White Magician Pikeru!" he said as the small girl with pink hair and the white robes appeared on his side of the field. (1200/0) "Now I send my Skilled Black Magician to attack your Solar Flare Dragon!" The Magician let loose a blast of magic that went straight for the dragon. Before it hit the monster it got sucked into a swirling vortex. "What just happened?"

"I reversed my Negate Attack. It automatically ends your battle phase when you declare an attack. Oh well."

"Oh man this isn't good," he said. "I end my turn."

"Then that makes it mine," she said drawing. The Balloon Lizard once again sucked in some air making itself even bigger. "This is perfect," she said smiling. "I set one card under the table. Next I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight!" A large metal warrior appeared on the field with a large sword like feature attached to one of it's arms. (1800/1600) "Gearfried destroy his White Magician Pikeru!" The warrior jumped forward and slashed at the small Magician destroying her. Kokuro's Life Points fell causing Sonomi to smile. (5900) "Next I will switch my Solar Flare Dragon on guard and end my turn. And doing so causes you to lose another 500 Life Points." The dragon shot another fire ball hitting Kokuro in the chest. (5400)

Kokuro began to draw his card when Sonomi began to say something. "It's funny, you had to work so hard to beat Professor Hikari. It was as if you were able to keep coming back, but here I am completely taking you apart. If defeating you is this easy then I will have no problem taking out Professor Hikari."

"I can't be defeated that easily," Kokuro said drawing his card and looking at it. "I activate Pot of Greed!"

"That means that my trap card activates and that you lose another 1000 Life Points." The circle of electricity began to form around Kokuro. It shot out at him but was stopped suddenly by a Rune Circle that appeared under his feet. "What's the meaning of this?" she said shocked.

"I activated my Pikeru's Circle of Enchantment. It will protect me from damage caused by card effects for the whole turn. So now I can activate all the Spell Cards I want and not lose any Life Points," Kokuro said smiling. He drew his two cards while Mia cheered for him. "Well this is handy. I activate Spell Absorption. I'm sure you know what it does. Also, since I've activated two more Spell Cards my Skilled Black Magician now has 3 Spell Counters on him."

Sonomi let out a small growling noise suspecting what was coming next. "Fine, summon your Black Magician, it won't matter!"

"Well, the way I see it, my Skilled Black is still standing strong at 2900 attack points so why waste that? So instead I will offer up my face down Apprentice Magician in order to summon my Black Magician Girl!" the Apprentice Magician disappeared and the Black Magician Girl came forth giving off a small twirl with a bit of pink energy twirling around her. (2000/1700) "Next I will activate Sages Stone! If you remember this allows me to special summon my Black Magician from my hand or deck whenever Black Magician Girl is on the field. And of course my Spell Absorption gives me an extra 500 Life Points." (5900) Suddenly the Black Magician appeared on the field with his staff at hand. (2500/2100) "Don't think that's all, I remove my White Magician Pikeru and my Apprentice Magician so I can special summon my Chaos Sorcerer!" The purple skinned spellcaster appeared on the field with his black cape flowing. (2300/2000)

"No way!" Sonomi gasped. The crowd started screaming with excitement. "You won't be able to get away with this!" she called out.

"You tell him Sonomi!" Mia said.

"I thought you were cheering for me?" Kokuro asked her.

"True friends don't cheer for amateurs like you," Somoni said. "She just said it to make you feel better about yourself."

"That's not true!" Mia said.

"Well," Kokuro began getting the attention of the two girls. "If I'm such an amateur then I guess you'll easily block this move, Black Magician, attack her Iron Knight!" The Black Magician began to charge his wand when suddenly an energy net caused him to fall to the ground along with the other monsters on the field. "What just happened?"

Sonomi began to laugh evilly. "I guess you are an amateur, I activated my Gravity Bind. Now no monsters with 4 stars or more can attack."

"No!" Kokuro gasped. "Well, that doesn't mean I can't use my Sorcerer's special ability. I use it to remove your Solar Flare Dragon." The Chaos Sorcerer began to chant and soon the Solar Flare Dragon became transparent and disappeared. "And with that I will end my turn."

Sonomi quickly drew her card smiling as the Balloon Lizard sucked in some air.. "So, I guess you should quit since I just proved you to be an amateur."

"I won't give up."

"Well, then I guess I'll just have to you defeat you the old fashion way. Now I sacrifice your Black Magician and your Black Magician Girl so that I can special summon Lava Golem on your side of the field!"

"Wait what?" Suddenly his Black Magician and Black Magician Girl disappeared. A cage appeared around him and a large beast made of fire appeared behind him and he found himself trapped inside a large metal cage.(3000/2500) "What, is this thing?"

"This _thing _is yours. I sacrifice two monsters on your side of the field so that you can control this monster with 3000 attack points. Unfortunately for you it can't attack thanks to my Gravity Bind. Oh and during each of your standby phases, you lose 1000 Life Points." She started laughing evilly again. "It's hopeless for you. I set one card under the table and end my turn."

Kokuro drew his card and suddenly a piece of lava fell off the Lava Golem and hit his shoulder. He cried out in pain as his Life Points lowered. (4900) "I hope you don't expect this thing to be around for too long. I use my Chaos Sorcerers special ability to remove Lava Golem from the field!" The Sorcerer began to chant when Sonomi called out.

"Reverse, Phoenix Wind Wing Blast! At the cost of discarding one card from my hand I can remove a card from the field and place it back on top of the owners deck. So I discard Crimson Ninja to return Lava Golem to my deck!" A large phoenix appeared on the field and started flapping it's wings. Soon the Lava Golem disappeared from the field. Kokuro took the card off his Duel Disk and flung it to Sonomi who caught it and placed it on top of her deck. "Any other pathetic moves?"

"I'll set one monster on guard and end my turn."

"Then I get to redraw Lava Golem," she said as she drew and her Balloon Lizard sucked in some more air. "Now I offer up your Chaos Sorcerer and your Skilled Black Magician and Re-summon Lava Golem on your side of the field." The giant monster reappeared on Kokuro's side of the field and the immense heat returned. "Finally I'll switch my Gearfried on guard and end my turn."

"My move, draw!" Kokuro announced as suddenly the Golem melted again and continued to burn him. (3900) "This is perfect, I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Gravity Bind!"

"Don't forget the 1000 you take from Curse of Darkness!"

"And don't _you _forget about the 500 I gain from my Spell Absorption!" The lightning circle zapped Kokuro but then his Spell Absorption healed him. (3400) "Now, Lava Golem attack her Balloon Lizard!" the Lava Golem let out a ball of fire that went and hit the reptile. It blew up and a large blast swept over Kokuro. Suddenly his Life Points began to fall. (1400) "What just happened?" he asked.

"During each of my standby phases my Balloon Lizard was given a counter. And once it got destroyed you lost 400 Life Points for each counter on it. I'm standing strong with 10900 Life Points and you have barely any left. What are you going to do?"

"I'll find a way out of this," Kokuro said smiling. "Its been a good duel. I can see how hard you've worked." Sonomi gasped and stared at him amazed. She couldn't believe he was having fun. "If you do beat me, I wish you the best of luck against Professor Hikari. But for now, I'm going to do my best, so I end my turn."

Sonomi drew her card and looked down at it. "I'll set one card under the table and end my turn."

Kokuro drew his card and the Lava Golem melted causing him to let out another small scream (400) "Alright!" he cheered. First I reverse my Old Vindictive Magician, and I use his special ability to destroy your Gearfried the Iron Knight." The old mage (450/600) let out a blast of magic that hit Gearfried destroying it. "Next, I attack you directly with my Lava Golem!" The Lava Golem started to form a fire ball when a hexagram appeared around it.

"I reversed my Spell Binding Circle. Now your monster can't attack. It's over, next turn all I have to do is end my turn and my Lava Golem will take you apart. You'll be out of my room and out of my life!"

"Not so fast, I send my Old Vindictive Magician to attack your Life Points." The mage let out a small blast of magic that hit Sonomi but she just shrugged it off. (10450)

"Oh no, I'm so scared," Sonomi mocked.

"You should be. I only wanted to attack with Lava Golem since it would do more damage, but now I offer up my Old Vindictive Magician and the Lava Golem so that I can summon my Black Magician of Chaos!" The blue armored magician that had defeated Professor Hikari slowly rose up on the field glaring at Sonomi. "As you know, this Magician can bring back one spell card from the graveyard and return it to my hand, and I choose my Pot of Greed."

"But if you activate it you will lose all of your Life Points," Sonomi pointed out.

"I'm well aware. So I will end my turn."

Sonomi looked at the card in her hand and then drew a card. "I activate Graceful Charity, this will allow me to draw three cards as long as I discard 2 afterwards." She drew her cards and suddenly a lightning circle surrounded her and zapped her. (9450)

"Are you alright?" Kokuro asked as his Life Points increased due to Spell Absorption. (900)

"I'm fine!" she shouted. "I discard Balloon Lizard and Raging Flame Sprite. Now I summon hand of Nephthys!" A woman dressed in strange garments appeared on the field. (400/600) "Now I activate Soul Exchange. I offer your Magician and my Hand of Nephthys, using her special ability, to summon the Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys!" Suddenly both monsters disappeared and a large flaming phoenix appeared letting out a screech .(2400/1600) Kokuro recognized it as the one from the Trap Card she had played earlier. "I may take another 1000 Life Points and you may gain 500 but it will all be worth it in the end." She said smiling. (8450) "I end my turn."

Kokuro swiftly drew his card and looked down at it. (1400) "I activate Pot of Greed, it will allow me to draw two cards." The lightning zapped him but the Spell Absorption helped keep some of his Life Points safe. (900) He looked down at his cards and smiled. "I'll place two cards under the table and set one monster on guard and that will end my turn."

Sonomi drew her card and smiled wickedly. "I summon Solar Flare Dragon!" she said as her dragon appeared on the field.

"You've triggered my trap! Dust Tornado! I use this card to destroy your Curse of Darkness." A large wind picked up and blew the trap card to pieces.

"It doesn't matter, Solar Flare Dragon will attack your monster!" The dragon formed a ball of fire and shot it at the monster. A woman with yellow robes and a gold harp appeared on the field. (800/2000) The attack bounced back and hit Sonomi. (7950)

"You attacked my Spirit of the Harp," Kokuro said smiling.

"It doesn't matter, go my Sacred Phoenix, destroy that monster! Sacred Flame!"

"Reverse Trap, Magic Cylinder! This card negates your attack and causes you to lose Life Points equal to the attack power of your Phoenix!"

The fire went into one of the cylinders that had appeared on the field and shot out the other one knocking into Sonomi causing her to scream out. (5550) "You, dirt bag. Fine, I end my turn, and with that my Solar Flare Dragon attacks you!"

The dragon released a ball of fire that hit Kokuro in his chest. (400) "It's not over yet," he said smiling. "I offer up my Spirit of the Harp and I summon my Chaos Command Magician!" The magician in green robes appeared ready for battle. (2400/1500) "Go my Magician, destroy her Solar Flare Dragon!" the magician let out a red blast of magic that struck the dragon and blew it up. Sonomi's Life Points fell and she clenched her fists. (4650) "Your Phoenix and my Magician are matched in attack power. That means that we will have to play strategically in order to win. I end my turn."

Sonomi furiously drew her card. "You may think we are matched, but my skills are far superior to yours. "I set one card under the table and end my turn."

Kokuro drew his card and smiled. "I too set one card under the table and end my turn."

"Come on guys!" Mia cheered. "Keep up the good work!"

Sonomi drew and looked at her card, "I set another card under the table and end my turn."

"When you set your card I chain to Solem Wishes. Now every time I draw I will gain 500 Life Points." Kokuro drew his card and sparkling rain fell on him. (900) "I have to end my turn for now.

Sonomi drew her card and started to get agitated. "We are at a stand still at the moment, this is so aggravating! Just go!"

Kokuro drew his card while the rain glittered down on him. (1400) "I set one card under the table and end my turn."

She drew her card and smiled. "Finally, I activate Tribute to the Doomed, by discarding one card from my hand I can destroy one monster on your side of the field. So I discard my second Lava Golem to destroy your Chaos Command Magician."

"Sorry but no," Kokuro said smiling as his face down card flipped up. "Since your Spell Card is targeting a monster I can activate my Spell Shield Type 8 to stop your card without having to discard any cards from my hand." A machine appeared next to the magician and created a barrier around him as mummy wrappings shot towards him and tried to wrap him up. The barrier blocked them until they disappeared.

"Just go!" she shouted.

"My pleasure," he said still smiling as the glitter rained down on him. (1900) 'This could be just what I needed,' he thought. "I set one monster on guard and end my turn."

Sonomi drew her card and smiled, "Finally some action! Sacred Phoenix, attack his monster!" The phoenix let loose a blast of fire. The flame hit a Magician in purple robes got hit and destroyed.

"That was my Apprentice Magician. I now get to take one level 2 Spellcaster or lower from my deck and place it face down on guard."

"Whatever, I end my turn."

Kokuro drew his card as rain started sprinkling down on him. (2400) "Oh yeah this is the ticket! I reverse my Old Vindictive Magician to destroy your Sacred Phoenix."

"Reverse Trap, Back Fire! Whenever a Fire Type monster goes to the graveyard you will take 500 points of damage."

The magician let loose a blast of magic that destroyed the Phoenix. The Phoenix let loose one last stream of fire that hit Kokuro. (1900) "Now, Chaos Command Magician and Old Vindictive Magician, attack her Life Points!" The two magicians combined their energies and blasted Sonomi causing her to scream out in pain.

"I won't let you win!" Sonomi roared. (1800)

"Great move Kokuro!" Mia called out. "Awesome fighting spirit Sonomi!"

"You really enjoy cheering for both sides don't you?" Kokuro asked smiling.

"I gotta cheer for my friends," she said holding up a peace sign.

Kokuro nodded and smiled, "Now, to finish my move, I activate Tribute Doll, I offer up my Old Vindictive Magician in order to summon Buster Blader." The mighty dragon slaying warrior appeared on the field with his sword ready for action. Kokuro gained 500 Life Points for activating a spell card. (2400) "And with that I end my move."

Sonomi drew her card and suddenly fire erupted from the ground. It swirled around the field destroying the Spell Absorption,Solemn Wishesand the two cards on her side of the field. Suddenly the flames came together and reformed into the Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys. "This is my Phoenix's special ability, if it is destroyed by a card effect it will return to the field during my standby phase and it also destroys all Spell and Trap cards on the field. Now I activate Salamandra! It will increase my Phoenix's attack power by 700 points." A sword appeared in the phoenix's hand and it got stronger. (3100/1600) "Go my phoenix, destroy his Chaos Command Magician." The phoenix let loose a stream of fire and blasted the Magician destroying it. "You can't win. I will always be better," Sonomi said laughing. "I end my turn."

Kokuro took some deep breaths as his Life Points fell (1700) He drew his card and looked down at it. "I set one card under the table, that'll do it for me." He said in ragged breathes.

"You fool, you forgot to switch your monster on guard!"

Kokuro gasped, "Oh no!"

"Poor Kokuro," Mia said.

Sonomi drew her card and laughed out loud. "This is why you don't belong here, because you have no clue what you're doing. I summon my Darkfire Soldier #1!" A man appeared on the field surrounded in flames. 1700/1100 "This is it, at the end of this turn you will be gone from my room. Sacred Phoenix, attack his Buster Blader!"

Suddenly a smile appeared on Kokuro's face. "Did you know that I like to act and that I'm good at it?" he asked. "I left my Buster Blader in attack mode on purpose. Reverse Trap, Shadow Spell!" Suddenly black chains wrapped around the Phoenix and stopped it from moving. 2400/1600 "I even added in the ragged breaths too. How'd you like it?"

"I thought that you placing the face down card was a bluff! I thought you were trying to _stop _me from attacking."

"Nope, I guess you guessed wrong."

"I end my turn," she said upset.

"Which means it's my turn," Kokuro said drawing his card. He looked down at it and smiled. "I activate Premature Burial to bring back my Black Magician!" Kokuro called out. His Life Points dropped but Kokuro wasn't too worried. (1600) The Black Magician appeared on the field and looked down at Sonomi. "Buster Blader, attack the Phoenix!" The warrior ran up and slashed its sword at the phoenix destroying it. "Black Magician, attack the Dark Fire Soldier!" The magician let out a blast of magic that hit the warrior blowing it to pieces of digital data.

The blasts from the attacks hit Sonomi and her Life Points fell. (800) "No," she said confounded. "I can't believe it."

"I guess I'm all done," Kokuro said.

Sonomi slowly drew her card but frowned. It was another Balloon Lizard. "No," she said softly. "This can't happen to me."

"Sonomi?" Mia said quietly.

Sonomi didn't hear her. She was too lost in her own thoughts. "I was the best, no one could beat me. Is this how Professor Hikari felt? No, his defeat happened too quickly. I can see that I'm going to lose. I can feel the hopelessness. Nothing I do now will allow me to win." She looked up when she heard Kokuro call her name.

"Sonomi, I want you to know that this was a great duel. You fought really hard and you had me sweat quite a few times. I didn't think I would be able to win. But you put up a real good fight, you should be proud of yourself, it was an excellent duel."

She took the one card in her hand and placed it on her disk on guard. She then just looked down at the ground. "I acknowledge I lost, but I won't just surrender. I'm willing to take my defeat like a duelist."

Kokuro smiled at her, "you have a good heart, and a good dueling spirit," he said drawing his card. "Buster Blader, attack her monster." The warrior slashed the reptile that appeared and then walked back to his side of the field. "Black Magician, attack the player." The Black Magician leapt forward and sent a surge of magic that hit Sonomi. Her Life Points dropped to 0 and she fell to her knees. The holograms faded, and Kokuro gathered up his cards as his Duel Disk folded back up. The crowd cheered his name but he ignored them as he and Mia ran over to her.

They knelt down next to her, "Are you alright?" Mia asked.

"That was a great duel," Kokuro said, "you should be pleased you did so well."

"You just kept coming back," she said softly. "I lost, to some new comer."

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm not some rookie. I used to come in second place at tournaments held at card shops. It was always my friends who would beat me." He let out his hand and helped her up. "I'm not a just a new comer to the game, I don't know why everyone thinks that I am."

She looked up at him and sighed, "I have to stay true to my word. I acknowledge you as a worthy Ra Yellow student. You're dueling today proves that." She looked up and saw all the other students cheering for Kokuro. She clenched her fists together and ran off.

"Somomi!" Mia called after her. She tossed the pack to Kokuro and took off after Sonomi, "Congrats," she said as she ran off.

Kokuro looked down at the pack and then looked up at the audience. They started leaving the bleachers coming towards him. He gasped and took off in the direction the two girls had gone, screaming for the people to keep away as they chased after him.

In a private observatory above the dueling field Seto Kaiba stood watching as Kokuro tried to get away from the crazed fans. The one who had tested Kokuro was also standing there. "What do you think Kito?"

"I'm pretty impressed with their dueling. Kokuro is an amazing duelist, and Sonomi is of course one of the best duelists here. However, she took a heavy hit to her pride when he beat her."

"That's true. However her dueling didn't lack anything. He just happened to get what he needed to beat her. He thought out each play and kept going until the end. He struggled in this duel. She gave him one hell of a run for his money," he was silent for a moment. "Raise both their ranks."

"Both sir?" Kito asked.

"Yes. Needless to say Kokuro's rank will sky rocket and his will be raised higher than Sonomi's. We can't raise hers too much because she lost, but I think it was a good enough of an experience for her that she should get some credit."

"So, when you said his will raise higher than hers?"

"I'd say make their ranking equal. It was the first duel they've ever fought against each other and she played well, so I will be lenient on her." He folded his arms. "I really wanted to watch her beat Hikari. I was looking forward to it actually."

"Maybe there is a way that you can still do that sir.

"Yes, I think you're right. Send a message to their PDA's telling them meet me in my office.

"Yes sir," Kito said bowing.

'I'll be watching them closely,' Kaiba thought to himself. 'I have high hopes for the two of them.'

Kokuro had lost sight of the rabid fans. He was walking through the field behind the academy letting the cool ocean breeze blow across his face. 'It's nice to be on an island surrounded by water,' he thought to himself. He chuckled and spoke out loud, "I guess that's what an island is after all." He walked through the grass enjoying the pleasant breeze. He sighed, 'I guess defeating two top ranked duelists brings you instant stardom.' He then began thinking about Sonomi. She hadn't been mean to him, she had actually spoken rather softly to him. It was a side of her that he had never experienced before.

He continued to walk along until he noticed a small cliff over looking the ocean. It was getting darker and the air was cool. He couldn't tell but he thought he saw two people sitting on the ledge. Curious he walked over towards them and discovered that it was Sonomi and Mia. Mia looked up and gave him a small wave. Sonomi didn't seem to notice him.

"What am I going to do now?" she asked. "I'm sure my rank has dropped and he's probably passed mine. I mean, he beat Professor Hikari, and now me. How am I supposed to get what I've worked so hard for now?"

"If you want my opinion," Kokuro began. Sonomi turned around startled and stared up in awe at him. He sat down next to her. "I'd say continue with your plan to try to beat Professor Hikari. You're a good duelist, I think you could beat him."

She sighed, "either way I owe you an apology. I can see now that you did your best to get here and that you didn't slack off any."

"Apology accepted," he said.

"I guess I just thought that I was so much better than Professor Hikari, and when I saw you beat him I got upset and forgot that you had worked hard to defeat him. Watching you come back from so far behind today reminded me of how hard you worked, when the odds were against you, and how I did the same thing last year. Working my butt off against incredible odds."

"It's cool," Kokuro said.

"I just don't know what to do now. I've worked so hard to win but because you beat someone so good like Professor Hikari, now that you've beat me, your rank is sure to go up while mine is sure to go down. I don't see how I'm supposed to get to the rank of Legend now." Suddenly their PDA's went off. Kokuro and Sonomi took them out and looked at them.

"A meeting?" Kokuro began.

"With Master Kaiba?" Sonomi finished. They looked at each other and then towards the academy.

"Well, lets get going," Kokuro said. They got up and started walking to the academy in silence. By the time they got to Kaiba's office they were a little worried.

"Ms. Hinote, Mr. Samé, please enter, Ms. Notosa if you would please stay out here,"a security guard said. Kokuro and Sonomi nodded while Mia sat down. They walked into the office and saw two green leather chairs facing a mahogany desk. Behind that desk was a large black leather chair and in that chair was Seto Kaiba.

"Please have a seat you two," Kaiba said motioning them to the green seats. They sat down and waited for Kaiba to begin. "I must say, I was impressed with your duel today. You gave us a good spectacle." Kokuro's PDA started to beep and he looked nervous. "Just put it on silent," Kaiba said. Kokuro did as he was instructed and put it on silent. "Now then, I wanted to discuss your ranks." Sonomi let out a nervous gulp. "Something wrong?"

"Um, no sir," she said nervously.

"Good. You both have demonstrated outstanding dueling skills. I am actually quite impressed with both of you. Kokuro, your rank has been risen due to your defeat over both Professor Hikari and Ms. Hinote. However, Ms. Hinote, your rank has been risen as well for such a good duel. Your ranks are equal at the moment. I felt like I would be lenient since it was your first time facing each other. In all honesty your rank should have dropped. But you have worked exceptionally hard so I have decided to let you go. Don't expect it to happen again though."

"Yes sir," Sonomi said softly.

"Master Kaiba Sir," Kokuro began.

"Yes what is it?"

"Well, I know how much Sonomi wants to be known as a Legend of the school. Is there any way she would still be able to become one without having to face me again?"

"You surprise me. Why do you care if she becomes a Legend?"

"Because I know how hard she has worked for it and I feel bad that I am keeping her from achieving her goal." Sonomi, shocked, looked up at Kokuro.

"So, what you are asking is if she can still be a Legend considering you just beat her?"

"Yes sir. I realize there are not many more opponents that she could face seeing as how Professor Hikari was her best bet."

"Tell me, what would you do to help her achieve the rank she wants?"

"I don't know what you mean sir."

"What length would you go to assure that she would become a Legend. Would you be willing to duel her again?"

"Yes sir. But, if I won wouldn't that make her rank drop and make it almost impossible to become Legend."

"Yes it would."

"I see," he said looking down.

Kaiba stared at Kokuro for a moment, "Tell me, what kind of duelist do you think is deserving of the rank of Legend?"

"What I consider is deserving?"

"Yes."

"We'll, I guess someone who shows great dueling skills. Someone who has beaten multiple duelists and almost never losesis quite a feat I would say. Someone who duels with great care and is really strong."

"And what if they lose to the same person more than once?"

"I don't see the big deal with that in all honesty. To me a Legend is someone who always tries to do their best and defeats multiple enemies. Even if they lose to someone more than once it doesn't mean they are no longer a legend. If they can still manage to beat many other players, I don't think losing to one person should make them unworthy of the rank."

"So, what your saying is even if she lost to you again, as long as she continued to beat the majority of this school she should still be considered a Legend."

"Yes."

"One last question, what do you base your ideas off of?"

"I base them off of you Master Kaiba. You have been defeated by Yugi Mouto a few times, but even so, since you remain one of the most undefeated duelists out there, then you are still a Legend."

"Very well," Kaiba said smiling a little. "Sonomi, I'm scheduling you to duel Professor Hikari tomorrow."

"What?" she said softly.

"Win this duel and I will grant you the rank of Legend."

"Are you serious? But why? Kokuro has already beaten him so I should have to beat Kokuro too!"

"Why? Because I'm going to base your performance off of Kokuro's ideas of what a Legend is. Beat Professor Hikari and you will be recognized as a duelist worthy of the rank of Legend."

"Thank you," she said happily. "Thank you for this opportunity."

"Don't thank me," he said. "Thank Kokuro for giving me the guidelines to make this duel final. Now, get a good nights sleep, dismissed." They got up and bowed, and then they walked out of the room. Kaiba sat there smiling to himself, "Well, it seems Kokuro said exactly what I wanted to hear from him. The best thing is, he didn't even realize that's what I wanted. His view on my rank as Legend and my rivalry of Yugi is what I mostly base off of. Anyone who can overcome a majority of the school is a good duelist in my eyes. But to only lose once in a school of top ranked duelists, that is what a Legend is to me." He turned to the intercom on his deck. "Schedule Sonomi Hinote for a duel with Professor Hikari tomorrow after classes," he said into it. He leaned back in his chair, "Now I need to watch Kokuro."

Sonomi ran up to Mia, "I'm gonna be a Legend!"

"Really!" Mia exclaimed. "That's great!"

"I just have to beat Professor Hikari in a duel, and of course that will be a cake walk for me."

"Congratulations," Mia said. She then noticed Kokuro walking up to Sonomi.

Sonomi turned around and saw Kokuro. "I don't know what to say. You did that for me didn't you?"

"Yeah," he said smiling a little and rubbing the back of his head.

"Why? After all I've done and said to you, why did you do it?"

"Because I felt you deserved it. I could tell you worked hard when we dueled. I feel you deserve it."

"Thank you," she said with almost tears in her eyes. "That was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me here. And I've been nothing but a jerk to you. Do you think, maybe we could start over? I feel I owe it to you since you were so nice to me."

"I don't want you to feel you owe it to me." He said. "But I would like to start over very much," he said.

"I'm Sonomi Hinote, you seem like a real nice kid and I would like to be your friend," she said shaking his hand.

"I'm Kokuro Samé, you seem like a determinedduelist and I would love to be your friend."

"I'm Mia Notosa, I'm tired and I would like it if my two friends would both let me go to bed!" Mia said butting in between them.

"Aww, you ruined the emotional friendship meeting," Kokuro said laughing.

"Lets just go to bed!" she said and started pushing them towards the door.


	6. Legend Duel, Sonomi Vs Professor Hikari

Sdrive: Not mine.

* * *

_Kokuro's Duel Disk was at his side, his Black Magician had Mage Power on it with 3 other cards under the table and Selaya's Spell Absorption active giving it an over all Attack Power of 5000. It was facing down against Domid's Fusilier the Duel Mode Beast at 2800 and his Mataza the Zapper, also with a Mage Power on but only with 3300 Attack Points. Kokuro drew his card and smiled, "Black Magic Attack!" he called out. His Black Magician blasted the Mataza and it caused Domid to lose the last of his Life Points._

_Kokuro walked over to congratulated Domid on an excellent duel. He shook his hand when suddenly he was aware of the fact that the hand seemed softer and more feminine. He looked up to stare right into Sonomi's eyes._

"Wake up!" Sonomi yelled at him hitting him with a pillow.

Kokuro was startled awake and looked up to stare right into Sonomi's eyes. "What time is it?"

"Oh a little number called, 'you're-late!'" she yelled.

Kokuro sighed, "alright, I'm up," he said. "What's with you anyway?"

"What do you mean? I need the guy who helped me get this duel to be there!" she said smiling at him.

"Wait, what day is it?" Kokuro asked looking around.

"Sunday," Mia said brushing her hair. "We don't have classes today so Master Kaiba set the duel to be in the morning."

"Oh," Kokuro said. He yawned and then got off his bed to go get changed. He came out to see both girls standing there eagerly. "If you tell me I'm wearing a dress…"

"Nope," Mia said.

"But we were sure hoping so," Sonomi said laughing.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Kokuro said walking over to his bag. He pulled out the booster pack he won for defeating Sonomi. "I wanted to give this to you yesterday but Mia was complaining about how tired she was." Mia responded with her smile and her peace sign. "I want you to have this," he said handing it to Sonomi.

"Why?" She asked puzzled.

"It's a good luck pack for when you face Professor Hikari," he said handing it to her.

"Thank you," she said gratefully. She took it and opened it. Looking through her eyes stopped on a card for a few moments before lighting up. She pulled her deck out of her pocket and took a card from the pack and slipped it into her deck.

"You find a card you…" Kokuro didn't get to finish, he was trapped in an unexpected hug.

"I've been looking for this card forever. Thank you."

"Ummm, ok," he said a little awkwardly.

She let go of him and ran to the desk to get her Duel Disk. Sliding it on she said, "I'm really in the mood for this duel now, lets go!"

Kokuro and Mia nodded, "right," they said in unison. They walked through the halls with Sonomi a few good feet ahead of them with her head up high and smiling. Mia smiled and whispered to Kokuro, "You really made her happy."

"I'm glad I could help," he said smiling.

They walked through to the arena and when they opened the doors they heard an announcers voice come on. "And there she is folks, the pride of Ra Yellow, Sonomi Hinote!" the crowd that had come to watch the duel burst into cheers.

Sonomi took her place on the dueling field and stood there smirking at Professor Hikari who was also smirking. "You ready to have your butt handed to you?" she asked him.

"Please, what threat do you pose to me young girl? You may have been the best duelist in our class before Kokuro came around, but even then you couldn't have beaten me."

"He's trying to get to her by mentioning you," Mia said to Kokuro.

"I know," he said with folded arms. "But that's in the past now. Sonomi finally respects me, so he can't get to her by using me."

"Save it!" Sonomi shouted at Professor Hikari while she was shuffling her deck. "I've waited for this moment for a long time. And now I'm finally going to get what I want. Once I beat you I will be a Legend!"

"Good luck with that," he said sneering. "You don't stand a chance." He slid his deck into his Deck Holster and his Duel Disk folded out. Sonomi did the same and they shouted out "Duel!" "Since I am the teacher I will go first," Professor Hikari said drawing his 6 cards. "I activate Pot of Greed," he said drawing two new cards. "Oh what luck, since I drew this card through the effect of another card, I can special summon it to the field automatically. So now I summon Watapon,"a small white creature with two antennas appeared on the field. (200/300)

"What the heck?" Sonomi said. "That thing doesn't match your style of dueling at all."

"Oh? We'll it's a Light Type and now that it's been special summoned I can get rid of it to summon this!" he said as Watapon disappeared. "Go Airknight Parshath!" An angel clad in blue armor with a large sword appeared on the field ready for battle. (1900/1400) "And of course I will enhance it with Luminous Spark!" he cried out as a blast of light appeared in the center of the field causing the angel to glow. (2400/1000) "I'll supplement it with one card under the table and that ends my turn." He said as the card appeared on his side of the field.

"That makes it my turn," Sonomi said drawing her card. "I'll set two cards under the table and one monster on guard and that does it for me." Her cards appeared and she smiled.

"It's my move then," he said drawing his card. "My guess is you will rely on your two face down cards to save you. So I'll summon Mirage Dragon!" A large yellowish colored dragon appeared on the field. (1600/600) "And of course since it is a Light Type monster my dragon gains 500 attack points!" The dragon began to glow and it got stronger. (2100/200)

"Fine, then I will activate Spell Binding Circle, and then chain Back Fire to the activation of my trap. Now every time you destroy a Fire Type monster my Back Fire will cause you to lose 500 Life Points. Also, my Spell Binding Circle will keep your Airknight Parshath from attacking." A hexagram curse appeared around the Airnight Parshath keeping it from moving.

"Fine, my Mirage Dragon can still attack, and it will!" The dragon let out an aura blast the hit the monster. A crater appeared and a pair of eyes seemed to disappear from the inside of it. "And what was that?"

"That was my Thing in the Crater. Its special ability kicks in whenever it's destroyed, it allows me to summon another Pyro Sub-type monster from my hand. So I'll select another Thing in the Crater on guard." Another crater filled with lava appeared and the hint of yellow eyes could be seen from it. "Also, don't forget that you lost 500 Life Points."

"Something I am not concerned with," Professor Hikari said smirking. (7500) "I end my turn."

"Get ready cause this move will rock your socks!" she said drawing. "I offer my Thing in the Crater to summon Thestalos, the Firestorm Monarch!" she called out.A monster clad in red armor with flames surrounding his hands appeared on the field. (2400/1000) "Whenever my Thestalos is tribute summoned successfully, its effect activates. I'm allowed to discard one card from your hand, and if it's a monster card, you lose 100 Life Points times the number of stars the monster has, so I choose the card on your right." The monarch let loose a small blast of fire that struck the card on Professor Hikari's right.

"Ha, you're guessing is horrible, all you managed to hit was a Magician of Faith," he said discarding the card to the graveyard and his Life Points Lowered. (7400)

"Now, its time to kick things up, I send Thestalos to destroy Mirage Dragon!" she called out. The Thestalos sent a stream of fire from it's hands that hit the Mirage Dragon and blew it to pieces. Professor Hikari growled as his life points fell some more. (7100) "I'll finish off my move by setting one card under the table," she said smiling.

"My move," Professor Hikari said drawing his card.

"Reverse Curse of Darkness," Sonomi called out.

"She seems real confident," Kokuro pointed out.

"She's an amazing duelist," Mia said.

"I don't care what you do. I summon Maha Vailo!" he said as his monster with the dark blue robes appeared. (1550/1400) "Next, I'll activate Gravity Axe Grarl." Sonomi's card started glowing and Professor Hikari was shocked by lightning. (6100) He looked at her to see her smiling wickedly. "Don't get too cocky, you know what this means," he said. "Thanks to Luminous Spark and my Gravity Axe and Maha Vailo's effect it gets stronger by 2000 attack points." Maha Vailo grabbed the Axe that had appeared and was also glowing. (3550/1000) "Go my monster, destroy her Thestalos!" Maha Vailo charged up the axe with electricity and slammed it down on Thestalos destroying it.

Sonomi growled as her Life Points fell. (6850) "I'm still in the lead, and if that wasn't enough you lose 500 for destroying a Fire Type Monster," she said back to him.

"You tell him!" Mia cheered.

"Yeah, stick it to him!" Kokuro called out.

Sonomi turned around and gave them a thumbs up. "I will."

"I doubt it," Professor Hikari said snickering. (5600) "I'm done."

"You're right, you are done," she said drawing her card. "I activate Graceful Charity, it may cost me 1000 Life Points, but at least I will get to draw three new cards as long as I discard two first." She was zapped by lightning as she drew her cards. (5850) "I discard Card Destruction and Balloon Lizard," she said as she slid the two cards into her graveyard slot. "I'll set one monster on guard and set one card under the table and end my turn."

"My move," Professor Hikari said drawing. "I activate the Sealing Swords of Light! It may cost me another 1000 Life Points but now you can't attack for 3 turns and I get to see what pathetic monster you have hidden on the field." 6 shining swords came down on Sonomi's side of the field and her Hand of Nephthys was revealed. Professor Hikari got zapped but continued to smile, (4600) "I summon Element Valkyrie!" he called out as a woman appeared on the field wearing armor and a long staff in its hands. It started to glow and got stronger, (2000/800) "You are done girl, Element Valkyrie, destroy her pitiful monster." The woman began to run up to Sonomi's monster when an energy net appeared."

"My Gravity Bind will hold you off."

"Clever Girl," he said snickering. "That will end my turn."

Sonomi drew her card and couldn't help but smile. It was the card that she had gotten from the booster pack that Kokuro had given her. "I have to wait to summon this but when I do, you're going down. So for now I end my turn."

"As if you have anything to truely stop me," Professor Hikari said snickering. "Oh what luck, I summon my Hysteric Fairy." An angel appeared on the field wearing glasses and holding a blue book. It began to glow and then got stronger. (2300/600) And since my Airknight Parshath isn't helping me, I'll offer it along with my Hysteric Fairy using my fairies ability to give myself an extra 1000 Life Points." Both angels disappeared and Professor Hikari began to glow. (5600)

"My move," she said drawing her card. "I'll summon Solar Flare Dragon to the field in attack mode!" Sonomi called out as her large flaming dragon appeared on the field growling. (1500/1000) "With that I end my turn and my Solar Flare Dragons effect activates. You lose 500 Life Points." The dragon fired a blast of fire at Professor Hikari causing him to shield himself as his Life Points dropped. (5100)

"It matters not," he said with confidence in his voice. "You are a good duelist, but compared to me you are nothing at all." He drew his card and smiled wickedly, "Ahh, perfect, I set one monster on guard and that ends my turn." He said sneering.

"My move," she called out looking at her card. "Ha! I summon another Solar Flare Dragon!" she called out as another of the dragons appeared. 'In just one more turn, I'll have this duel won," she thought. "I end my turn and now that counts as the last turn for the Sealing Swords. Also you lose 1000 Life Points."

The two dragons shot out fire balls which slammed into Professor Hikari. (4100) "Ok, now I am getting annoyed, so prepare to lose it all!" he said drawing his card. "I reverse my Trap Master and I use his ability to destroy your Gravity Bind.

"Oh no!" Mia gasped.

"Stay strong," Kokuro called out.

Sonomi growled watching as the energy net was destroyed. "Next I activate Premature Burial. It may cost me 1800 Life Points but it will allow me to resurrect my Airknight Parshath!" He was zapped by his Spell Card and started to breath a bit heavily. (2300) His angel appeared on the field and started glowing. (2400/400) "Now you have to face my Element Valkyrie, my Maha Vailo, and my Airknight Parshath. Its hopeless for you. Airknight Parshath, destroy her Hand of Nephthys" The angel brought down its shining sword down upon the woman. She blew up and the rest of the attack went on to hi Sonomi.

Sonomi screamed out as her Life Points fell. (5050) "I won't give up," she said under raged breaths.

"I don't see how you can win, Maha Vailo, attack her Solar Flare Dragon!" The man charged up the axe and began to bring it down on one of the Solar Flare Dragons when the second head butted him knocking him back. "Why did it do that?"

"Solar Flare Dragon has a second ability. If there is another Pyro Attribute monster on the field you can't attack Solar Flare Dragon. And since they are both Pyro Attributes and both have the same ability, you can't attack either one of them."

"No!" he screamed. "Fine I end my turn."

"It's my move," she said as she drew her card. "Now, its time to summon a card that was given to me by a friend."

"Hey, I think she's about to summon the card she put in her deck," Mia said.

"I think you are right," Kokuro said.

"I sacrifice both of my Solar Flare Dragons so that I can summon this monster!" she cried out. Both her dragons disappeared and she placed the card on the disk. The field erupted in fire as suddenly a gigantic flaming monster appeared on the field. It had a beak like a bird and flaming wings, but it also had 4 legs, and two arms with claws on it. It looked like a giant flaming sphinx. "Infernal Flame Emperor!" she cried out as the monster finished forming. (2700/1600)

"What…what is _that!_" Kokuro called out.

"That's what she meant!" Mia said. "She's been after that card ever since she heard about it."

"What does that thing do?" Professor Hikari said worriedly.

Suddenly Sonomi's graveyard began to shine. "I am allowed to remove up to 5 Fire Type Monsters from my graveyard and for each one I remove I can destroy one Spell or Trap card on your side of the field."

"NO!" Professor Hikari cried out.

"YES! So now I remove Thestalos, a Thing in the Crater, and my two Solar Flare Dragons in order destroy your one card under the table, your Premature Burial, your Gravity Axe and Luminous Spark." The large flaming beast formed balls of fire in it's claws. It threw one at the Light in the center of the field causing it to blacken out, it threw one at the Axe held by Maha Vailo melting it, it threw one at the face down card which disintegrated, and it threw one at the Premature Burial card causing it to explode destroying Airknight Parshath. All the monsters on Professor Hikari's side of the field lost any attack power they had gained. Maha Vailo (1550/1400), Element Valkyrie (1500/1200), Trap Master, (500/1100).

"No, this can't be happening," he screamed.

"Go my Infernal Flame Emperor, destroy his Trap Master!" The Flame Emperor let lose a stream of fire which hit the Trap Master decimating it. Professor Hikari screamed out in pain as his Life Points fell drastically. (100) Sonomi stood there smiling. "I end my turn," she said confidently.

Professor Hikari weakly drew his card. "I set one card under the table and switch all my monsters on guard. That ends my turn."

Sonomi drew her card, "Not so tough now huh?" She mocked. "I summon Raging Flame Sprite!" A small sprite appeared on the field holding a small wand. (100/200) "My Raging Flame Sprite has the ability to attack your Life Points directly," she said smiling.

"No!" he yelled out.

"Raging Flame Sprite, finish him off!" The small sprite's wand began to glow and it let out a stream of fire that hit Professor Hikari in the chest. The whole audience burst into cheers along with Mia and Kokuro as they watched his Life Points fall from 100 to 0. (0)

"It…it can't be." He said weakly. "I lost to a student a _second_ time?" He fell to his knees and looked down at his shaking hands. "How? How is it possible?"

"I can tell you how," Kokuro said walking up to him. "She had more determination to win than you did. You didn't see her fit enough to even face you, just like me. So you underestimated her skills and that's what brought her to victory. And she had a little help from me," he said smiling. Suddenly Sonomi ran up to him and gave him a giant hug.

"Thank you! After all I've done to you, you still came through and helped me again. You really are a true friend."

Kokuro blushed madely, "Don't mention it," he managed to stutter out.

Mia walked up to them flashing her smile and her peace sign, "How was that for a show?"

"It was excellent, she did an amazing job," Kokuro said. Just then Seto Kaiba walked up to the three of them. Sonomi quickly let go of Kokuro and they all bowed.

"Well, well, well, I guess you won huh?" he asked grinning a bit.

"Yes Master Kaiba," Sonomi responded.

"Congratulations," he said. "I always knew you could do it." He walked up to the stage and took the microphone from the announcer. "Today marks a new day for Ra Yellow. With her amazing triumphs over all who have stood in her way, with the exception of Kokuro Samé, and just now with the defeat of Professor Hikari, I hear by give the rank of Legend to Sonomi Hinote. Congratulations." The entire stadium cheered for her as she stood there with her head up high.

"So," Mia began. "I guess instead of ruining your life, Kokuro actually made it better."

"Yes, he did," she said smiling.

"Come on, I say we go celebrate," Kokuro said. They started walking out when they heard members of the audience telling them to wait up. The looked back to see the audience members hurrying after them.

"We'll never get to party if we're stuck being congratulated!" Mia exclaimed.

"Run for it!" Kokuro yelled as the three of them took off running out of the arena. As they were running he cried out, "I hate being a star!"

Sonomi started laughing and yelled back to him, "Get used to it!" Kokuro looked at her with a confused look on his face but she just smiled sweetly at him.

'She has a nice smile,' he thought to himself. 'My dad would so have something to say about this.'

"They're catching up!" Mia cried.

Kokuro looked back to see that the audience was indeed catching up, "GAH! KEEP RUNNING!" he cried out.

Seto Kaiba had watched the three run out as the audience tried to chase them. He couldn't help but give off a faint smile. 'Those three are going to make something of themselves,' he thought to himself. He then walked towards Professor Hikari and stood over him, all kindness gone from his face. "Get up and see me in my office immediately," he said to him and then without waiting for a response, walked out of the arena.

Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia had barely made it into their room and locked the door before the students caught up with them. All three of them collapsed on the floor exhausted. "I'm…thinking…the party…will have…to wait," Mia said in between breaths.

"Good…Idea," Sonomi said. Kokuro just lied there on the floor trying desperately to catch his breath. Sonomi gave him a small punch on the shoulder, "You really helped me out there. What with the card and cheering me on. Thanks."

"No problem," he said regaining a normalcy to his voice. He sat up and looked at them, "is it always this exciting?"

"Only for us stars," Mia said, at that they all laughed.

"I'm thinking it won't be safe to leave the room until well after lights out," Kokuro said.

"What about lunch!" Sonomi asked causing Mia and Kokuro to laugh.


	7. Training Video!

Disclaimer: not mine

* * *

The sun was high over Duelist Academy seeing as how it was near the afternoon. In the head office Seto Kaiba sat with his elbows resting on his desk and his head resting on his hands. His narrowed blue eyes were staring down at a rather worried looking Professor Hikari. "I'm sure you are quite well aware of what this little 'meeting' is about," he said calmly. 

"You aren't going to fire me just for losing to two students are you?" he asked more as an outburst than a question.

"No one is getting fired today, at least not yet. This is mearly a very sternwarning. You've been a problem ever since school began this year and quite frankly its beginning to upset me."

"I can't think of anything I've done worthy of being yelled at!" Professor Hikari exclaimed.

Kaiba sat back in his chair and reached into his desk drawer for a notepad. He opened it up and began speaking. "Questioning me about Mr. Samé's entrance exam, not reporting the issuing of a detention, keeping detention student in longer than needed, degrading students dueling abilities." He put the paper down in front of Professor Hikari so he could see. "Should I continue? I can understand being a strict teacher, but I can not and will not tolerate a cruel teacher."

"I don't know what you are talking about with this whole detention thing," Professor Hikari said nervously.

Kaiba slammed his hands down on the desk in anger, "So then you are calling my students liars?"

"What are you talking about?" came the uneasy reply.

"I overheard some students talking about your unfair detention to Mr. Samé and asked them about it. They told me all about the entire thing."

"But he was late to class…" he started but Kaiba cut him off.

"That's not the problem, the problem is not reporting the detention to the office and on top of that making it longer than the standard detention time. The crime didn't fit the punishment and to me, there was no crime. He may be a Duel Monsters prodigy but he is still a first year, and I would have overlooked the fact that he was late on the first day. Now consider this your warning. If I hear from any of the students that this kind of behavior is going on in your class room, you will lose your position is that clear?"

"Yes Master Kaiba," he said with gritted teeth.

"Good, then get out." And with that Kaiba got up and walked out of the office leaving Professor Hikari to let out a low growl before he left.

Kokuro, Mia, and Sonomi were all hiding in their room from the mob trying to get at them. It had quieted down some but they could still hear some of the other students waiting to get to them. Suddenly there was nothing. No noise or anything. Unexpectedly there was a knock on the door. The three got up to look out the peep hole and gasped when they saw Kaiba standing outside their door. Mia slid the chain back and opened the door. They all bowed and said "Greetings Master Kaiba."

Kaiba nodded and then looked to Sonomi. "I felt that I should personally come down here and congratulate you Ms. Hinote. Congratulations.

"Thank you Master Kaiba," she said bowing.

He then turned to Kokuro, "I also felt I should apologize for the behavior of Professor Hikari towards you since I know that he would never come down and apologize himself."

"Oh, well thank you, but you didn't have to do that," Kokuro said a little shocked.

"I know but I figured it was my responsibility since I am his employer. His actions relect on me causing me to look bad."

"Well, thank you," Kokuro said.

"Now there is one other thing I wanted to discuss." The trio looked at him with wondering eyes. "Every year I create a video that can be bought by parents or by kids interested in enrolling. In it has the various up to date information about what we have to offer here at the school. And in each video I have a mock duel between two of the students that are currently enrolled." Kokuro and Mia's eyes lit up, knowing what he was going to say next. "Kokuro, I am personally asking you if you would like to be one of the students in the mock duel."

"Yes sir, I would be honored Master Kaiba," he said enthusiastically.

"Good, now the only problem I have left is who you are going to face. I would pick Sonomi but I don't exactly know how well that will fare, with you two just dueling each other."

"No offense but I'm not interested anyway Master Kaiba," Sonomi said.

"Really? How come," Mia asked curiously. "I would love to do something like this." This statement made Kaiba raise his eye brow for a moment.

"Well, I saw the video before I came here last year. It was certainly informative, but it was also a little corny, no offense Master Kaiba, and I told myself that I would probably never want to be in it."

"No offense taken Ms. Hinote. In all honesty I don't write the script. I make sure that the duel is played out well enough and that the information is correct and nothing inappropriate is put into it. Everything else is written by the Video Production Team."

Kokuro looked at Sonomi, "You don't like to have fun do you?"

Sonomi was a little taken back, "What do you mean, of course I like to have fun."

"Alright, it's just…"

"Just what?"

"Well, you always seem to be so uptight. I can understand how watching the video might seem like a little over the top, but I can't believe that you are so dead against it that you wouldn't even want to be apart of it."

"I have my reasons," she said sternly, yet there was a hint ofdisappointment in her voice.

"I just think you have to relax a bit. Just try to have some fun with it. But that's only one persons opinion."

"Well," Kaiba began. "Seeing as how Ms. Hinote doesn't want to take part in this, would you like to be his opponent Ms. Notosa?"

"Oh really? Thank you Master Kaiba," she said bowing.

"You are welcome," he said. "I will discuss it with the Video Production Team and then contact you when they are ready to shoot the video." With that he walked out of the room.

"You really want to be apart of this?" Sonomi asked Mia.

"Yeah, and you're sure you don't want to be apart of this."

"…yes," she said after a second.

"Alright suite yourself," Kokuro said walking out of the room.

"Where are you going?" She asked him.

"Lunch," and with that he walked out.

* * *

Kokuro was at a table eating lunch when Mia and Sonomi came up to him. "Hey Kokuro," Mia said a bit worried. 

"Yeah?" he asked after he had swallowed some of his food.

"I hope you don't mind, the video team came up to us while you were gone, they had already talked to Master Kaiba. They asked me if tomorrow was a good day to have the duel."

"That's fine," he said. He stared at her and got the hint that there was more to what she had to say. "Anything else?"

"Well, they asked me if we would want to be the hosts of the video as well. I told them I would do it but I had to ask you first."

"The hosts? You mean the ones who also give out the information?"

"Yeah, it sounded like fun so I didn't mind volunteering,. And even though it would get us out of class tomorrow, Sonomi wouldn't do it. So they asked if you wanted to."

"Sure, that sounds like a fun idea," Kokuro said taking another bite of his food.

"You do realize that you are going to be made fun of with all the corny material they are going to throw in there don't you?" Sonomi asked him.

He swallowed and smiled, "Yeah so? I like to act a little strange sometimes even if you don't."

"I'll have you know…" she began.

"Yeah, yeah, you like to have fun. Well, while you _like_ to have fun I _will_ be having fun."

"I have my reasons for not wanting to act like a fool!"Sonomi exclaimed storming out of the room.

"What's her deal?" Kokuro asked. Mia just shrugged.

The next day Mia and Kokuro met with the Video Production Team. Kokuro was quite glad that he didn't have to go to class and see Professor Hikari. It also helped that he would be spending the day with Mia. They looked over the scripts and Kokuro couldn't help but laugh saying "These scripts really _are_ corny."

"It gets the students interested," one of the team mangers said. "Now get to your positions."

They started filming the video and it took them to around 1:00. They broke for lunch and then came the fun part. "Well, I guess it's about time," Kokuro said to Mia. "Since we have to follow the script I'd like to say it now, good luck."

"Thanks you too, and don't go easy on me either," she said smiling.

"I won't," he said laughing.

They got to the dueling field and saw that there were people in the arena cheering. "I thought that this would be a private viewing," Kokuro said.

"That would be boring," Mia responded.

"So, I wonder if Sonomi will be watching us," Kokuro said.

"I don't think so. If she was spotted in the audience by the camera then she would be 'part of the video,'" Mia said making quotation marks with her fingers.

The two did the small part of the skit needed before the duel and then took their respective places on the Dueling Field. They shuffled each others decks to show the respect the students had for one another and to also show that the duel wasn't acted out as well. They gave each other back their cards and got to their sides inserting their decks into the Duel Disks watching as they folded out. As always the two opponents shouted out the most recognized line when dueling, "Lets duel!"

"I will let the lovely lady go first," Kokuro said saying his last 'before the duel script line.'

"Why thank you sir," Mia said saying her last one. They drew their hands and looked them over. "I summon Flying Kamakiri #1!" she said as a large green and red bug appeared on the field with it's wings flapping fast. (1400/900) "I then end my turn."

'What a strange opening move,' Kokuro thought. 'It's not that strong and she didn't set any cards under the table. She must want me to attack it. Hmm, where have I seen this card before?' Drawing his card he said, "It's my move!" He scanned his hand and picked out a card. "I summon my Skilled White Magician." The magician in the pure white clothes and the long silver staff appeared on the field. (1700/1900) "Skilled White Magician, attack her Flying Kamikiri #1!" The Mage let out a blast of white magic which hit the bug destroying it.

"When you attacked my Flying Kamakiri you activated it's effect," Mia said. (7700) "I can now take a Wind Type monster from my deck and summon it to the field in attack mode as long as it has 1500 attack points or less."

'Of course,' Kokuro thought. 'Yamato used to use that card when his deck was more of a Wind deck. He stopped using it once it transformed more towards Dragons.'

"Now I bring forth Ultimate Insect Lv 3 in attack mode!" she called out as a small blue and red bug appeared on the field. (1400/900)

"I see," Kokuro said. "You use an Insect Deck, I must say that it surprises me."

"That's a good guess based off the cards I've played so far," she said flashing a kind smile. "Unfortunately for you it's wrong." Kokuro gave her a quizzical look but she just responded with, "Are you done?"

"No, I set one card under the table, now I'm done." The brown backed card appeared in front of him and Mia drew her card. 'What could she be up too?' he asked himself.

"Are you ready? I think you should watch the field closely." Mia's small bug began to glow and transform. It grew much bigger gaining long sharp legs, sharp pointy mouth, and gray shell like armor. (2300/900) "During my Standby Phase I can offer up my Ultimate Insect Lv 3 in order to summon the stronger Ultimate Insect Lv 5! And now I summon Armed Dragon Lv. 3!" A small orange dragon with gray armor on it's body appeared on the field. (1200/900) "Are you starting to see the way my deck works?"

"Yes, I think so," Kokuro said. "You use a Level Deck don't you?"

Mia put her finger on her nose, "right on buddy! Now, it's time for my Ultimate Insect Lv. 5's effect to activate. If it was special summoned by Ultimate Insect Lv. 3, then it's Special Ability will decrease all monsters attack points on your side of the field by 500 points."

"No way!" Kokuro said as his Skilled White Magician's attack power dropped. (1200/1900)

"And now my Ultimate Insect, attack and destroy his Skilled White Magician!" The large bug pushed the Magician to the ground and slashed at its mouth destroying it.

Kokuro covered himself as a small wind picked up, (6900) "Reverse Trap, Solem Wishes. I'm sure you know what it does."

"Yes but you will still take more damage than you will gain, go my Armed Dragon, attack the player!" The dragon let loose a small burst of fire knocking into Kokuro. (5700) "And with that I end my turn."

Kokuro drew his card as the sparkling rain fell on him. (6200) He looked down at his card and smiled. "I set one monster on guard and that ends my turn," he said as the brown backed card appeared in front of him."

Mia drew her card and looked at it, smiling. "Well, if I had the last card I needed for my Ultimate Insect you would be finished, unfortunately for me I don't own it yet. However, my Armed Dragon Lv 3 will evolve into Armed Dragon Lv 5!" The small orange dragon grew bigger. It's armor got stronger and it looked meaner. (2400/1700) "Check it out. Isn't it awesome?"

"I'll say, it's impressive."

"Yay!" she squealed. "Next I will activate Pot of Greed allowing me to draw two cards." She picked up the two cards and couldn't help but smile. "I've drawn two of my favorite cards, however for now I can only play one. So I will summon Silent Swordsman Lv 3!" A green boy wearing blue robes, with a small sword appeared on the field. (1000/1000) "Next I will activate this Spell Card, Heart of Clear Water." The swordsman began to glow a bright white.

"What is happening?" Kokuro asked.

"The Heart of Clear Water equips to a monster with less than 1300 attack points. That monster can no longer be destroyed in battle or by the effects of Spells, Traps, or Monster effects," Mia explained smiling.

"So, you are keeping it safe until it levels up on your next standby phase right?"

"That's right," she said holding up a peace sign. "Now, my Ultimate Insect will attack your monster!" The insect stabbed the card with one of it's sharp feet revealing a magician in purple robes with a green staff and blonde hair. "Oh no!"

"Yup, you attacked my Apprentice Magician, so now I get to search for a Spellcaster with 2 stars or lower and place it face down on guard."

"Fine, Armed Dragon attack!" The dragon let loose a blast of fire that hit the new monster. It was another Apprentice Magician. Kokuro searched through his deck again before setting another card on guard. "Silent Swordsman, attack!" The swordsman ran forward and brought its sword down on the monster. Kokuro's last Apprentice Magician was destroyed and he searched his deck for a new magician. He placed it on guard smiling at Mia. "I'll set a card under the table and end my turn," Mia announced.'

"My move, Draw!" Kokuro called out as the sparkling rain fell upon him. (6700) "Here is where things get tricky," he said. "First I reverse my old mage and I use it's special ability to destroy your Ultimate Insect!" The old hunch backed magician appeared on the field and let a blast of magic loose from it's staff which struck the insect and destroyed it. "Next I offer up my Old Mage for my Chaos Command Magician!" The magician clad in green robes holding its green staff with the ruby in the center of it appeared on the field. (2400/1500) Kokuro's graveyard began to shine, "finally I will remove Skilled White Magician and Old Vindictive Magician from my Graveyard from play in order to special summon my Chaos Sorcerer!" Suddenly the purple skinned magician appeared on the field with its hands glowing. (2300/2000)

"Oh no!" Mia said. 'if he removes my Silent Swordsman, I'll be in big trouble,' she thought.

"Chaos Sorcerer, use your special ability to remove the Armed Dragon from the game!" The sorcerer began to chant and a bubble appeared around the Dragon. The bubble began to vanish leaving the Armed Dragon trapped inside. Kokuro was smiling and Mia blew out a sigh of relief. "Ya know, your Heart of Clear Water may protect your Silent Swordsman from being destroyed, however it doesn't protect it from battle damage. Go Chaos Command Magician, attack Silent Swordsman Lv 3!" The magician began to gather energy when suddenly it was lifted off the ground. "What's going on?" Kokuro asked as he realized that his Chaos Sorcerer and her Silent Swordsman were also floating. They came back to the ground in a crouched position and their cards appeared underneath them. "What just happened?"

"I activated my Trap Card Zero Gravity. It switches the battle positions of all monsters on the field. So that meant that all monsters switched on guard, negating your attack," Mia said smiling.

"No way," Kokuro said shocked.

"What's wrong? You seemed stunned that I've practically stopped everything you've done."

"I guess that old saying about judging a book by its cover was right," he said looking down a little. She gave him a questioning look. "I thought that since you were always so carefree that you wouldn't be this good. I underestimated you, and I'm sorry."

"Hey, no big deal, you stopped two of my strongest Level Monsters, however…I've got stronger ones waiting."

"And I'll be ready for them," Kokuro said looking up smiling. "I place one card under the table and that ends my turn."

Mia drew her card and began to laugh, "This is a good duel, but I'm afraid it's about to end shortly. My Silent Swordsman Lv 3 begins to evolve!" The Swordsman began to glow and it got taller, its robes got longer and its sword got bigger but for the most part it looked the same. (2300/1000) "Meet Silent Swordsman Lv. 5! Now, here is how my Swordsman works, he can only level up again if he attacks your Life Points directly, so I guess I have a small problem here."

"I guess so," Kokuro said sounding a little worried. He felt as though she had a plan.

"Well, luckily for me I have a card in my hand that can change that," she said holding up a card, its back towards Kokuro. She slid it into her duel disk and it activated. "I activate Level Up! This card allows me to ignore the needs of my Level Monster and Special Summon the Level Monster that is named on the card I'm using Level Up on. So, I now evolve Silent Swordsman Lv 5 into the incredible Silent Swordsman Lv 7!" The swordsman again grew taller and its sword got massively larger. All in all it looked the same, just taller but with a bigger sword. (2800/1000) "My Silent Swordsman would normally be able to negate spell cards due to his ability, but because I summoned him through the powers of Level Up, his ability doesn't activate. But I still have a 2800 point monster on the field and thats all I need."

"This is bad..." Kokuro said. 'Good thing I have a back up plan,' he thought.

"Now, I have one other card to play, but I'm afraid you might get upset if I play it," she said looking down at a card in her hand.

"I won't get upset," Kokuro said a little confused. 'What could she have in her hand that would make me upset?' he asked himself.

"You promise?" she asked.

"I promise," he said.

"Alright then, if you won't get upset, then I summon Silent Magician Lv 4." Suddenly a female magician with long white robes and a short little staff with a blue jewel at the top appeared on the field. She had blue robes underneath the white robes and she had long white hair. (1000/1000)

Kokuro just stared at her. His eyes were wide and his mouth had dropped slightly. "Silent Magician?" he said slowly.

"Yes," Mia said worried about the reaction he had. "This is my other favorite card. This and its evolved form."

Kokuro's face turned into a small smile, "It's one of the cutest cards I have ever seen," he said. "Not to mention a cute Magician Card."

"Yeah, I think so too," Mia said smiling. "Well, I won't get anywhere by just sitting around. Silent Swordsman Lv 7, attack his Chaos Sorcerer!" The Swordsman's sword began to glow. It swung the sword and a large burst of energy came out of it going right towards the Spellcaster."

"Reverse Trap Card, Magic Cylinder! This card will negate the attack and send it right back at you." The energy went through one of the cylinders that had appeared on the field and then blasted out the other striking Mia. She screamed as she was thrown backwards. (4900) "Are you alright?" Kokuro asked her.

She slowly stood up and brushed herself off, "Never better," she said smiling holding up a peace sign. "That was kind of fun." 'But it was also bad because now my both my monsters are in danger. Ah, what am I fretting, I have a way to keep them safe' she thought. "I'll set two cards under the table and end my turn." The two cards appeared in front of her and she was done.

"It's my turn," Kokuro called out as the sparkling light covered him (7200) Out of the corner of his eye Kokuro noticed that the Silent Magician had begun to glow. As it did her attack points increased, (1500/1000) "Would you mind explaining what just happened?"

"Every time you draw a card my Silent Magician gains a Spell Counter and for each Spell Counter she has on her she gains 500 attack points."

"What a strange effect for a Level Monster," Kokuro said out loud and then began thinking to himself. 'It's especially strange since the level of the Silent Magician is 4. I could see it being one of the other Levels, unless…' He smiled and spoke out loud. "Unless the Silent Magician is like my Skilled Black and White Magicians and _needs _those Spell Counters in order to Level up!" Mia again put her finger on her nose smiling.

"I'm pretty impressed that you figured that out all by yourself, I guess you really do know your magicians."

"Thank you," Kokuro said happily. "But in all honesty that was just a guess. I have no clue what it will evolve into or how many Spell Counters it needs."

"Well I guess you'll find out soon," she said smiling.

"I guess so," he said. "But for now, I switch my two magicians into attack mode and use my Chaos Sorcerers ability to remove your Silent Swordsman from the field out of play." The sorcerer began to chant and the bubble started to form around the Silent Swordsman.

"I'm not letting you take him out that easily," she called out. "Reverse Trap, Interdimensional Matter Transporter." A large machine appeared on the field and shot a blue beam at the Silent Swordsman. The Swordsman broke down into little bubbles and disappeared."

"What just happened?" Kokuro asked.

"My Interdimensional Matter Transporter can remove one monster from the field from play for the remainder of the turn."

"So you removed it from play yourself so that you could bring it back later!" Kokuro said shocked.

"Yup," she said smiling.

"Well, my Chaos Sorcerer already activated its effect so it can't attack. But that doesn't mean that my Chaos Command Magician can't strike. Go my magician," he looked at the cute magician in front of his, "attack the Silent Magician!" he said kind of sadly. The magician let loose a blast of magic that aimed straight for the cute card.

"Twice in one turn," she said smiling. "Reverse Interdimensional Matter Transporter!"

"Another one?" Kokuro said stunned.

"Yup. Now my Silent Magician is safe too." The Silent Magician disappeared and the attack missed.

"But you have left yourself wide open for a direct attack, go Chaos Command Magician, attack the player." The magician let loose a blast or red magic at Mia which hit her and lowered her Life Points significantly.

She got up and dusted herself off again, "I know I took a good number of points, but it was well worth it to save my magician. (2500)

"You value you your cards, I respect that. I set one card under the table and end my turn."

Suddenly a swirling vortex appeared on the field and both the Silent Magician and the Silent Swordsman appeared on the field. She drew her card and looked at it. "I set one card under the table, and then I send my Silent Swordsman to attack your Chaos Sorcerer!" The swordsman ran forward and slashed its sword down on the Spellcaster destroying it. Kokuro shielded himself as his life points fell. 6800). "That ends my turn."

Kokuro drew his card and the sparkling rain fell on him as well as the Silent Magician glowing. (7300) (2000/1000) "I set one monster on guard, and send Chaos Command Magician to attack Silent Magician." The Magician gathered energy when unexpectedly black chains covered the poor magician and kept him bound.

"You aren't the only one with a Shadow Spell Trap Card," she said chuckling.

Chaos Command Magicians attack power decreased while Kokuro let out a small growl. (1700/1500) "I end my turn."

Mia drew her card and looked at it. "Well, this will work," I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon Lv. 4!" A machine like monster appeared on the field. It looked more like a bird than a dragon but Kokuro wasn't going to tell her that. (1600/1000) "Silent Magician, attack Chaos Command Magician now!" The small girl magician twirled around and then let out a blast of white magic that hit the Chaos Command Magician and destroyed it. (7000) "Next my Silent Swordsman will attack your on guard monster!" The swordsman swung its sword letting out another blast of energy which destroyed Kokuro's Spirit of the Harp. "Finally Horus, attack the player!" Horus flew up into the sky and let out a stream of black fire that hit Kokuro and caused him to move backwards. (5400) "I think that does it for this turn," Mia said.

Kokuro drew his card and felt the sparkling rain heal him. He also watched as the Silent Magician got stronger. (5900) (2500/1000) 'This is crazy,' he thought. 'I had the lead for a while but then I lost it. She doesn't need to sacrifice for her monsters since she can just level them up. And on top of that I can't use any Spell Cards. I don't know how to get out of this one.' "I set one monster on guard and end my turn."

Mia drew her card and looked down at it smiling. "I'll keep this for later. For now Horus, attack his monster." The dragon let loose even more black fire which destroyed Kokuro's White Magician Pikeru. "Now go, Silent Magician and Silent Swordsman, attack the player." The swordsman attacked Kokuro with its sword while the magician blasted him with white magic. Kokuro fell to the ground as his Life Points were dropped significantly. (700) "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," came the reply. Kokuro stood up and dusted himself off, "this has been a fun duel. And if you win, well then congratulations. But for now, I still have a handful of Life Points, and so the duel is still on."

"Right, but I have to say, its not looking good for you. I set one card under the table. Because now that I end my turn Horus Lv 4 evolves since it destroyed a monster in battle this turn."

"What?" Kokuro gasped.

"That's right, Horus evolves into Horus the Black Flame Dragon Lv. 6!" The bird like monster grew much taller and significantly stronger. It still had some bird like features. (2300/1600)

Kokuro gazed at the three powerful Level Monsters in front of him, Horus Lv 6. Silent Swordsman Lv 7, and Silent Magician Lv. 4. He couldn't help but think that her strongest was still somewhere in her deck. He drew his card and felt the rain fall down on him increasing his Life Points and also watched as Silent Magician got stronger. (1200) (3000/1000) He looked at his card and gasped. 'This is it,' he thought. 'If that Silent Magician doesn't evolve next turn, then I'm done for. I have no other way to protect myself. I have to hope, that even though that Magician isn't mine, it will still help me.' Speaking he said, "I set one card under the table and that ends my turn."

Mia drew her card and looked down. It was her Level Up. She looked down at the Level Up and then at Kokuro's face down card. She smiled slightly, a kind soft smile. She then looked up to see Kokuro standing there, "I feel as though I should let you have the honor of seeing the evolved form of Silent Magician Lv 4.Normally it would need 5Spell Counters to evolve, but with Level Up that all changes!" she said. "I can now offerSilent Magician Lv.4 in order to Special Summon Silent Magician Lv 8!" The small female magician started to get taller as her body developed. Her clothes got longer and her staff became longer as her white hair got longer as well. (3500/1000) "This is my strongest Level Monster. And it's special ability states that this magician is unaffected by Spell Cards. What do you think?"

"You have a lot of Level Cards that don't like Spells," he said smiling a little. "Unfortunately for you, _this _is a Trap," he said as his card flipped up. "Torrential Tribute, and since you special summoned a monster, all monsters on our sides of the field are destroyed. But as you can tell, I don't have any. So only you are effected." Kokuro closed his eyes as he heard the waves of his Trap Card flood the field with its devastating power. When it was over he opened his eyes to see her field completely clear.

"I don't believe it," she said astonished. Her face changed from amazed to happy. "Good job, it was an excellent duel."

"Yeah, it was."

"I end my turn to you."

Kokuro drew his cards and the sparkling rain fell on him. (1700) "I activate Pot of Greed allowing me to draw two new cards and raising my Life Points." (2200) He drew his two cards and smiled. "It was a good duel, and an honor to face you."

"Same here," she said knowing she was about to lose.

"I summon Skilled Black Magician," he said as his black robed mage appeared on the field holding it's long silver staff. (1900/1700) "Finally I activate Mage Power, causing it to become a (3400). Go, attack the player!" The Magician nodded and blasted Mia with its staff. She endured the attack as her Life Points dropped. (0) The crowd cheered for Kokuro as he ran over to see her. "That was a fun duel," he said

"Yeah it was," she said flashing her smile and peace sign.

"I never expected you to be that strong, had you just not summoned the magician, I would have lost."

"I'll file that under 'tips for defeating Kokuro,'" They both laughed and then went back over to the Video Production Team. The rest of the day was spent making the rest of the movie. At the end of the day there was a small, finalization party. Kokuro and Mia had been invited into Seto Kaiba's office along with the Video Production Team so that he could look over the video and make sure that it was well informed. Sonomi was also there. Kokuro had convinced her to come watch the tape so that she could see the duel between Mia and Kokuro. After some hesitation she had accepted. The video started and everyone became quiet.

A zoom in on Duelist Academy from an aerial shot. Shots of the three dorms appear and then the academy where a close up shows Mia in a suite standing at the door smiling. "Greetings everyone, I'm Mia Notosa!"

Suddenly Kokuro jumps into the frame and puts his back to Mia's side, also in a suite,"And I'm Kokuro Samé!"

Mia then began, "And we're here reporting live from Duelist Academy to get the inside scoop on what this place is all about."

Scene fades and comes to a new scene inside the academy with Kokuro and Mia in their Ra Yellow outfits. "We've disguised ourselves as Ra Yellow Students to try to get the full experience of what it's like to be a student here at Duelist Academy," Kokuro said.

"And so that we don't get chased off by the guards," Mia butted in. They ran down the halls and into the cafeteria, "This is the cafeteria…"

"As if you couldn't tell," Kokuro said.

"Co-anchors," she said sighing.

"Hey, I thought you were my co-anchor!"

"That's not the point. The point is that every day students receive excellent food from inside of the cafeteria to keep their minds in tip top form. Of course we had to personally try out this food ourselves, so…" Scene flashes to Kokuro and Mia scarfing down large amounts of food at a table filled with everything served in the kitchen and random students staring at them. Yaku walks by and mutters, "Ra Yellow," before walking off.

In the office Kokuro is staring at the video, 'I didn't realize he was there.'

On the video they are in one of the class rooms, "That was delicious," Kokuro said.

"And energizing!" Mia responded. They get hushed by the teacher and give off a 'busted smile', "sorry," she whispers.

"Here we are in one of the class rooms where teachers spend time teaching different aspects of Duel Monsters to their students. They range from strategies, statistics, effects, and everything a duelist needs to win."

"Also in other class rooms they teach basic things like English, Math, Science, all the normal type of stuff you would get from a regular high school," Mia said cheerfully. "Just so that if a student hasn't finished high school yet, they can still learn things that will help them later on in life."

"Do I need to give you two a detention?" the teacher asked.

"No sir," they replied. "Just be careful," Kokuro said, "although it's a school that teaches Duel Monsters, the teachers won't tolerate disrespect towards them."

"I'll see you after class," the teacher said to Kokuro. Kokuro groaned while Mia mouthed, "busted!"

Outside the two 'reporters' were walking along the beach. "The gym classes are also really well put together," Kokuro said.

"To make sure that students not only stay mentally healthy, but physically healthy too, the gym classes are designed for usual games like dodgeball, baseballor volley ball."

"Or for things like swimming or hiking," Kokuro finished. "You know, Mia, I've always enjoyed long walks on the beach. But I'm enjoying this one the most."

"Can it Romeo, we still have to find out more about the academy." Kokuro sighed defeated.

The group outside of the video was chuckling while Mia is nudging Kokuro with her elbow, "You know you enjoyed that line."

"No, I didn't like being told to 'can it,'"

"I'm talking about the other one," she said laughing.

On screen the duo is now exploring the Ra Yellow Dueling Field. "Each of the dormitories have their own Dueling Arena's somewhere on the island, usually located near the dormitory itself," Kokuro said. "There are also outside arenas where anyone can duel, but the Dormitory Arena adds a little class to some of the duels."

"You know, I'm in the mood for a duel right now," Mia said.

"Wanna take me on? I'm sure I can win!" he said pounding his fist on his chest trying to act like a 'Macho-male.'

"You're going down reporter boy," Mia said. It then progressed into the big duel.

Off screen Sonomi was impressed at how good the dueling was. Half way through she had to make a comment, "This duel is a hell of a lot better than the one I had to watch."

"Thank you," Mia said.

Right before the duel had finished Sonomi took notice of the kind of smile that she had given Kokuro. 'Oh no,' she thought.

On screen after the duel was over the two were shot laying back to back in the center of the arena, "That was one tough match," Mia said.

"Yeah, I'm ready for a nap."

"Speaking of naps, I guess now would be the perfect opportunity to go check out the Dormitories." The screen fades and then quick 2 second shots of different areas of the three dormitories are shown before Mia and Kokuro are in their own dormitory room. "This is the Ra Yellow Dormitory. It's one of the nicer dormitories because this is where the moderate students are. The rooms are equipped to hold three people in bunk beds. The dorms are great places to meet new friends and to even have study sessions." Kokuro is pretending to sleep in one of the beds. Mia tip toes over to him then shouts, "WAKE UP!"

Kokuro pretends to be startled banging his head on the upper bunk. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it was just so comfortable."

Off screen Kokuro says, "They are quite comfortable for bunk beds."

"Glad you approve," Kaiba said startling everyone, especially the VPT. They had never heard him talk during the video before.

On screen Kokuro explains how after a good nap he's ready to take a bath. "You're on your own with that one," Mia said with an annoyed face, holding her hand to his face and walking away.

In the bathing area Kokuro is testing out the water with his foot, "Duelist Academy offers a relaxing bathe house where duelists can release the stress of dueling with water heated by the islands natural hot springs. An added bonus is the great scenery. You will feel as if you are on your own little private island surrounded by all of the foliage." He lays back and looks out the window ceiling at the crystal blue sky, "And when it rains it's the perfect place for scary ghost stories if you're into that sort of thing." Unexpectedly the room becomes noisy with a whole bunch of students coming in and getting into the water. "INVASION!" he cries out.

Outside Mia is walking along a small path, "While Kokuro enjoys himself in the bath, I thought I'd tell you all about the card shops." The scene changes to her standing in the card shop. "Here is where the duelists can step up their game by getting all the latest booster packs before they even hit the shelves! Plus there is also a display case which holds all sorts of rare cards that are up for sale. There are multiple ways of getting a hold of these cards." The screen becomes blue and Mia's voice comes over as numbers appear.

Money. "You can always use money that you may have brought with you, but since normally not many students have money while at the academy there are other ways of doing it too."

Trading "If you have that special card that the card shop is looking for, you might be able to make a trade with your card for the card you are after or a number of booster packs depending on the worth of the card. If your card won't cover it all the way, then you can still use other methods of getting the cards you want along with your card."

Duelist Points, "After all the new students have had time to adjust, they get their Duelist Points card. It is a card that each student receives while at the academy. Based on how well you duel, and whether or not you win, you will be given a certain amount of Duelist Points that your duel disk sends to a computer with your information. Just give the shop keeper your card and you can trade your Duelist Points for cards and boosters. Don't know how many Duelist Points you have? There is a small machine in the card shop, and in various places in the academy where you can swipe your card and the number of Duelist Points you have earned will appear on the screen. Oh, and don't worry, even if you lose a duel, you will still get duelist points. So it's fair for everyone. Oh, and here's a little secret, you can exchange your duelist points at anytime for cards, but if you let it grow, sometimes you will be given a free gift if you get to certain numbers. I don't know the numbers, but I'm sure the free gifts are cool!"

Rank. "Some times if a players rank is rather high, they will be given a couple of free booster packs. But to make it fair, players who are at the bottom of the barrel may also get a couple free booster packs, to help them out."

Dueling. "This is probably the hardest way to get cards. Each day there is a special Life Point Challenge or LPC for short. Any player can duel in this LPC but if anyone wins the LPC, then the challenge is over, and no one else can play a LPC for the rest of the day. Each day the LPC changes, whether or not someone won it the day before. Each LPC has a special Life Point rule you must win. Each LPC is 10 minutes long. But if you win it, it could be quite rewarding. Not only will your Duelist Points go up, but you will also win the LPC card of the day. Like I said before, it is probably the hardest way to get cards, but it can be real fun too. And if your lacking those last few Duelist Points, it may be just what you need to get them."

"So, those are all the fun ways to earn cards at the card shop. As you can see there are plenty of ways to get cards that don't require money, just another perk of being a Duelist Academy Student."

The scene changes to Kokuro sitting under a tree trying to catch his breath. He looks up to see Mia coming up to him and sitting down next to him. "How was your bath reporter boy?" Mia asked him.

"Rowdy," Kokuro said.

"Aww," she said sympathetically. "Well, I think we covered everything there was to cover about Duelist Academy." Kokuro just nods and puts his head against the tree. Mia giggles and puts his hand in hers and lays her head on his shoulder looking up at the sky. "It certainly is a nice place to relax and have fun. Make new friends, and play good hearted games. You know, you're not so bad yourself."

"Mia, there is something I've been meaning to tell you for a long time," Kokuro said with a flushed face. Mia turns her head curiously. Kokuro is about to speak when someone calls out.

"THERE THEY ARE!" The two turn their heads to see a bunch of security guards and the teacher who busted Kokuro earlier. "I knew that kid wasn't in our records. Get them!"

Kokuro and Mia shot up and took off running. "Well, I guess that's all for this interview," Kokuro said yelling.

"I'm Mia."

"And I'm Kokuro."

"And we're busted!" they said as they ran off screen with the mob of security guards chasing after them. A screen of Duelist Academy is shown and the credits began rolling.

Kaiba pressed a button on his remote ejecting the tape from the VCR. He gave a small grin and said, "I liked it." The VPT sort of turned their heads and stared at him funny. "It gave the important information, and was entertaining to see. This was the best one yet." He turned to the VPT who instantly straightened their faces. "You can start making the copies and send them to the customers who have ordered them."

"Yes Master Kaiba," the members of the VPT said together.

Kaiba then turned to Sonomi and Kokuro, "And you two did a good job as well," with that he dismissed them and the VPT and sent them off on their own way.

Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia were walking along back to their dormitory when Sonomi suddenly spoke. "Well, it seems that you two sure had a good duel."

Mia nodded, "Yeah it was fun."

"As you saw, I almost lost. Had Mia not summoned that Silent Magician, I would have been done for."

Sonomi was silent before muttering, "Yeah, you would have."

"What did you say?" Mia asked.

"It was nothing, come on, lets go get some dinner." With that the three of them went to the cafeteria. They all got their food and sat down. All except for Sonomi, "Kokuro, could I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure," he said curiously. He got up and followed Sonomi to a small corner in the cafeteria. "What's up?"

"I don't know how to tell you this," Sonomi said looking nervous. "But Mia _let _you win your duel today."

"What are you talking about?"

"Mia is always putting others ahead of herself and didn't want people to watch you lose so easily. I could tell by the smile she gave you before she played Level U.She knew you had that trap down and she summoned her Silent Magician Lv. 8 so that you would win the duel."

"I can't believe it," Kokuro said literally not believing it. "Why would she do that?"

"Because she doesn't want a good duelist like you to go down in front of a camera like that."

"How can you be sure that she let me win though?"

"Because she let _me _win before too. And right before she threw the match she gave me that exact same smile."

"Wait, she almost beat you?" Kokuro asked stunned.

"In my book she _did _beat me. She knew how much winning meant to me that she made an amateur move against me just like she did against you so that I would win. The truth is, Mia's deck scares me."

"It scares you?"

"Yes. You saw how fast it worked. Most decks require a sacrifice in order to get a stronger monster out. Hers automatically special summons her strong monsters almost every turn and still allows her to summon another monster. As long as she can keep one weak level monster on the field long enough, she can level it up and then keep her weaker level monsters out longer with that one stronger one and get through all of an opponents defenses in no time."

"But, it seems as though its no different as when she sacrifices her monsters to me," Kokuro said.

"Actually it is, because like I said, her monsters level up almost each turn just as long as she offers up her other monster. But that doesn't count as a sacrifice. She is still allowed to summon another monster, so it's not like she has to wait a turn before summoning a new level monster and then another after that to evolve it."

"Now that you mention it, that does seem kind of fast. But I still don't know why you are scared of her deck."

"Well, I guess because it means that her deck is better than mine. That if we were going to duel, she would able to beat me easily." Sonomi looked down, "And then there's also the part of me that says she'll throw the match again just to make me feel good. In all actuality, it makes me feel worse."

"So why don't you tell her that? If it's so upsetting why not have a rematch?"

"Well, I…"

"I'm sure you won't hurt her feelings. Come on," Kokuro began tugging on Sonomi and leading her back to the table as she tried to get away. "Just relax," he said to her.

They got back to the table and Mia was sitting there looking at the two, "I was wondering when you would be back. I missed my friends."

Sonomi just stood there until Kokuro gave her a small shove towards Mia. She turned to glare but he just smiled and gave a small wink. "Um, Mia."

"Yeah?"

"Well, I was just thinking…would you…" she was shaking and Kokuro could see it as well as Mia.

"Sonomi what's wrong?" Mia said standing up.

"I…you see…"

Kokuro watched as the events played out, he felt bad for Sonomi and wanted to help her somehow but didn't know how. 'She's not ready to go through with this re-match yet,' "I'm gonna take on the shop keeper in an LPC!" he suddenly burst out.

The two girls looked at Kokuro and stared at him. "You are?" Mia asked curiously.

"Um…yeah!" Kokuro said not entirely sure himself. Then he remembered about how it was described and he smiled confidently. "Yeah! I'm gonna take the LPC challenge and win it!"

"Well good luck!" Mia said giving him a smile. She turned back to Sonomi, "By the way, what was it you were going to say?"

"I…I was…going to ask if you would like to come watch Kokuro do his Life Point Challenge," Sonomi said quickly thinking up an excuse to mix her words.

"Oh of course, I think it would be awesome!" Mia said getting excited. "But that doesn't start until tomorrow. So what do you want to do until then?"

"Want to just hang out in our dorm?" Kokuro suggested. "I bet you must be tired from making the training video. I know I am."

"Yeah I am, sound good to you Sonomi?"

"Yeah," Sonomi said softly as they sat down to finish their dinner.

On the way back to the dormitory Kokuro told Mia that he and Sonomi were going to walk slower so that they could talk. Mia said that was fine and headed off towards the dormitory. Kokuro turned to look at Sonomi, "So what happened back there?"

"I got scared ok?" she said annoyed.

"I don't see what's so scary about challenging Mia to a duel. I would do it again."

"I can't lose," she said softly. "I have to win."

Kokuro looked her over, "You are always so uptight. I don't understand this obsession with winning you have. Why can't you just duel for fun, and if you lose you lose. What's the big deal."

'I'd love to just duel for fun, just once,' she thought to herself. 'But as long as he's standing in my way of that…' she trailed off in her thoughts. "I just can't. If I lost, again, it would be over. I'd be dead."

"What do you mean? Why would you be dead?"

"Because…because…" she tried to think of an excuse he would buy. "Because if I lost to Mia then my rank would lower and I might lose my position as a Legend."

They walked a bit longer before Kokuro said, "I don't believe you." Sonomi snapped her head towards him and noticed that his face was that of a serious one. "I don't believe your rank is all you are worried about. I can tell in your voice that there is something else bothering you. But you don't have to tell me what it is. It's none of my business." He walked along staring up at the sky. "But I'm sure it would be a large burden off your chest if you finally faced her."

They walked along before she said, "I'm afraid of losing to her. She has been the one friend I have had the whole time I was here. The one person who always helped me through anything, but I'm scared of her."

"How can you be scared of Mia? She wouldn't harm a fly."

"It's not that. To know that she is better than me, and that if I lose to her, I'll probably lose my rank as Legend…"

"Alright, now I can see the sincerity. But I still don't understand why you feel that it will be the end of the world."

Sonomi couldn't give an answer. She had one, but she couldn't give it. She felt foolish because she knew that only one thing stood in her way of facing Mia. 'Then again, he's stood in my way all my life.' Sonomi felt an arm go around her shoulders, she looked to see Kokuro looking at her.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't be prying into your life like this. But I can see the sadness on your face. I'm your friend and I would like to help in some way if I can and if you want me to."

Sonomi looked down at the ground. She felt Kokuro remove his arm and she glanced at him. "I don't know if there is anything you could do," she said softly.

"I'm willing to try," he said. "Just let me know when you think of something." By this time they were at the Ra Yellow Dormitory. They walked through the halls in silence until they got to their room.

"Thank you," she said unexpectedly before swiping her card key and walking inside. Kokuro, slightly taken aback, followed. There they saw Mia holding two silvery cards in her hand.

"I stopped by the office and picked up our Duelist Cards," she said handing one to Sonomi and one to Kokuro. "Now you can definitely take on the LPC tomorrow."

"Thanks," Kokuro said nodding. "Well, I'm gonna take a bath and then hit the sac, good night guys."

"Good night," the two girls said.

'Tomorrow I take the Life Point Challenge," Kokuro thought.


	8. Duel! Life Point Challenge

A/N 1: Sorry for the late update, the site was down yesterday and I couldn't update.

A/N 2: Some people have said numerous times that Kaiba being nice gets on their nerves and now the constant mentioning of it is beginning to get on MY nerves. I realized a while ago that I mistyped the wrong age for Kaiba. He is not 19, he is really 25. I have a reason for why he is not a jerk but none that I will mention yet One final note, When I mention the North School, I had no idea that in the show it is in the middle of some crazy icy cold place. So, instead think of it as something like Duel Academy…only to the north of it…but not that far north. Sorry for Ry if you think this is pointed at you, but others have mentioned it too so I'm putting it on everyone, yours was just the straw that got on my nerves. I also apologize to people who wanted to get right to the story, so without further a due, on to the story.

Disclaimer: don't own GX, but I do own the LPC system.

* * *

_"You lost! What kind of worthless girl are you?" an adult male said pushing Sonomi to the ground. His face was blackened out in shadows. He seemed to be wearing a black business suit. The area around them was black and the man seemed larger than he really was._

"_I'm…sorry," Sonomi said crying._

"_I told you, losing is for the weal! If you want to succeed in life you must crush all who oppose you. Power is your only friend! If you lose again, no matter the reason, you will be severely punished, do I make myself clear?"_

"_Yes…" she said weakly standing up a bit with tears still running down her face. Although his face was blackened she could see the anger rise in him as he knocked her to the ground again._

"_And stop that damn crying! No one likes to see a whiny brat. In the world of Duel Monsters it's do or die, not do or cry." The man turned his back on her and walked off as she lay there crying._

Sonomi awoke with a start, nervous sweat running down her face, her breathing heavy. She looked around the dark area of her room. Looking over the side of her bed she saw Kokuro sleeping contently, and underneath him, Mia who seemed to be dreaming about something. She checked her PDA and noticed it was 3:45 in the morning. Groaning she lay back down with her face on the pillow. She tried as hard as she could but was unable to fall back asleep. Sneaking out of her bed she grabbed her duel disk and left the room. She quickly ran through the halls and into the Ra Yellow Training Arena. It was a small room for duelists who could face computer opponents to test their skills. She didn't care if she got caught and reprimanded; she needed to get her mind off her dream.

About 30 minutes later she had a full match completed against the highest setting on the computer. She had won, but then again, she knew the strategy of the computer and unlike a machine, she dueled with instinct. Not the strategy of a couple of 1's and 0's. She left the training room to see Professor Hikari standing there.

"I thought I heard the Training Arena active. You know that sneaking out to duel in the training room at night is not allowed."

"Oh save it, I had a nightmare and couldn't sleep. You know I relieve my problems through hard core dueling."

"Then maybe you should face off against me. If you win I will allow you to move along without informing the administration about your little late night activity."

"I've already beaten you, don't get cocky when you know you can't win."

"Your win was nothing but a fluke my girl, if we were to duel again, I'm positive I would over come you."

"In your dreams," Sonomi said walking away from him.

"Turning your back on a teacher is highly frowned upon my dear," he said following her. "It would seem as though you have developed a little bit of an attitude ever since your raise in rank."

"First off my attitude has gone down. Second if anyone's has it's yours ever since Kokuro defeated you," she retorted.

"Oh very good," he said smiling wickedly. "Taking an opponents weakness and extorting it to get what you want. Some times it amazes me how much you are like _him_.

This statement angered Sonomi, "I am _nothing _like him!"

"Your attitude and your style of dueling are pretty much the same my dear."

"You know my reasons," she said, anger with a hint of annoyance in her voice, "So don't you ever compare us like that." With that she walked back towards her room.

Professor Hikari let out a small 'humph.' "How dare she talk to a teacher that way," he said annoyed.

"You did overstep your boundaries a bit though," another teacher said coming up to Professor Hikari. It was Jukata-Sensei, the Osiris Red teacher Kokuro would have faced if Professor Hikari hadn't interfered.

"And just what do you want?" Professor Hikari said with annoyance still in his voice.

"I was going to tell you earlier, but you were too busy with other work. Master Kaiba has informed me about the student from the North School."

Professor Hikari's eyes and expression instantly went from minor annoyance to ultimate sternness, "What does he plan on doing with him?"

"Some of the other teachers are holding an early morning meeting, none of them can sleep because of the situation. I'll give you the details on the way." With that the two teachers walked down the hall.

Sonomi was in her room lying on her bed. She was a bit calmer now and she could relax a bit more. She lay down on her bed and slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next morning she woke up late. She ran around to try to get everything together. While getting ready she noticed that Kokuro and Mia weren't in the room. 'Where did they go?' she thought to herself.

In the Ra Yellow Arena Mia had her Silent Swordsman Lv 7 out and her Horus the Black Flame Dragon Lv 6 out. Kokuro was open for a direct attack. "You said you didn't want me to hold back, so I won't," Mia said smiling. "Silent Swordsman, Horus, attack the player!" The swordsman swung its sword at Kokuro but he suddenly dropped a card from his hand to his graveyard. A Kuriboh appeared and was destroyed.

"I'm not letting you win that easily," he said smiling to at her.

"Fine, Horus attack the player!" The dragon let loose a blast of black fire that consumed Kokuro. "That ends my turn."

Kokuro let out a deep breath as his Life Points reduced. 100 He drew his card and his Solem Wishes gave him an extra 500 Life Points. 600 "Well, it looks like I'm done. I set one monster on guard and end my turn."

Mia drew her card and looked down at it. "I summon Exiled Force. Its special ability allows me to sacrifice it to destroy one monster on your side of the field. So I offer it up to destroy your monster." Kokuro's Spirit of the Harp was beaten up and destroyed. "Go Silent Swordsmen, attack the player!" The swordsman slashed its sword at Kokuro depleting his Life Points. 0

The holograms faded and Kokuro stood up and dusted himself off. He walked over to Mia and shook her hand, "Congrat's Mia," he said.

"You don't feel bad for losing?" she asked him.

"Nah, I know that winning isn't everything. I had fun and that's what counts. But now we better hurry, we don't want to be late for class."

"Ok," she said as she took off towards her class and Kokuro ran off for his.

He ran into the class with barely enough time. He ran up the steps and took his seat next to Sonomi. "Where were you this morning?" she asked him.

"I was losing a duel to Mia," he said matter-of-factly.

Sonomi gasped, "You dueled Mia again? And you lost? Why?"

"Yes, yes, and because, like you, I didn't want the crushing fact of knowing that she let me win boggle me down. So I challenged her to a rematch, and I wasn't surprised in the slightest when she beat me. It was a nice weight off my shoulder." Sonomi looked down and didn't say anything else for the rest of class.

The day went by rather quickly for everyone as Kokuro's Life Point Challenge came closer. Once all the classes were over Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia walked over to the card shop. They entered and saw a young woman sitting at the counter reading a book. She looked up when she heard the bell on the door ring when it was opened. "Ahh, welcome, may I help you?" She asked.

"I sure hope so," Kokuro said. "I'm looking to take the Life Point Challenge."

"Oh, what fun, you are the first one to come in today for the LPC. Very well, my name is Setsuna, and I am the one who duels in the LPC's.

"I'm Kokuro," he said. "So, what exactly are the rules?"

"Well, each day the rules change but I can give you the basic rules right now. Each LPC is only 10 minutes long and the only way to win the actual challenge is to reach some standing with the Life Points. I'm sure you are thinking that 10 minutes sounds a bit long for a duel with such rulings, but trust me, its harder than it seems," she said winking.

"I'm sure you must be very skilled at this if you are the one who duels them," Kokuro said smiling.

"Indeed, especially since I'm the one who created the system."

"Whoa! You created the Life Point Challenges!" he said shocked.

"Yup," she said with a smile on her face. "Each challenge is different. Some are easy to accomplish while others are harder. Easier challenges will reward a card of lower value, while a higher challenge will reward one of higher value. If someone doesn't win the LPC for today, then it will change tomorrow, along with the card. Now, you can win the duel by depleting my Life Points to 0, but if you didn't first meet the requirement of the LPC, then you will not be rewarded the card."

"So, even if I win the duel, I might still lose the LPC?" Kokuro asked.

"That's right," she said.

"Seems like a pretty neat system and an awesome way to have fun. I accept whatever challenge you have for today," Kokuro said confidently.

Setsuna smiled, "Well then, shall we begin?" she asked taking out a Duel Disk and putting it on her arm.

"You bet," he said sliding his deck into his Duel Disk and allowing his Duel Disk to fold out.

"Excellent, then today's LPC is a fairly easy one, if you have the cards to accomplish it. You must make me have go down to half my original Life Points or lower before the end of the duel."

"So, in other words, I have to make your Life Points hit 4000 or lower?" Kokuro asked trying to make sure he understood.

"Yup, fairly easy compared to some of the other challenges. I'll even let you in on a secret. This is actually a bit laid back then another that has a slightly different rule. In this case, you just have to make sure that they are 4000 or less at any time during the duel. However, some other day it might be you have to make them STAY at 4000 or less or not even let it go under 4000 until the end of the duel."

"Ahh, I see, so in this case you could choose almost anything for the Life Point Score, and a way to make it a challenge for the other player to win."

"Yes, if I'm giving away a free card, I don't want it to be too easy, especially if it's a valuable card. The LPC was originally designed to be used as an extra twist to the game, but Master Kaiba liked it so much he asked me if I would use it for the Card Shop duels, and I said ok."

"Well, congratulations," Kokuro said. "So, who goes first?"

"You can go first," she said. "But first," She took a remote out of her pocket and pressed a button on it. A small screen came down and a projector turned on. 10:00 was shown on it. "As soon as you draw your first card the timer begins," she said.

Kokuro nodded and drew his card. Setsuna pressed a button and the time started ticking down. "I summon Skilled White Magician," he said as his Magician in white robes appeared on the field (1700/1900). "Next I activate Tribute Doll, and I offer up my Skilled White Magician for Buster Blader!" Kokuro called out as his magician disappeared and his tall dragon slayer appeared on the field. (2600/2300)

"Way to go Kokuro!" Mia cheered.

Sonomi nodded, "Getting a high powered monster out on the first turn is a good idea," she said. "Especially with so little time to work with."

"I'll finish my turn by setting one card under the table," Kokuro said as his card appeared on the field.

"Then it's my move," Setsuna said drawing her 6th card. "I summon White Magician Pikeru," she said as suddenly a magician in white robes with pink hair appeared on her side of the field."

"So you use Pikeru too?" Kokuro asked. 'That partially explains why it will be so hard to reduce her Life Points.'

"Yes I do," she said. "Next I activate Messenger of Peace." Suddenly a priest appeared on the field holding a book. "I'll set two cards under the table and that ends my turn."

Kokuro drew his card and placed it in his hand. 'She must have something to stop the attack of my Buster Blader,' he thought. 'Otherwise she wouldn't have left it in attack mode. However, I was always told to walk into traps.' "I summon my Skilled Black Magician," Kokuro called out. His magician in its black robes appeared on the field ready for a fight. (1900/1700) He looked down at his hand again, 'If I can get three spell counters on Skilled Black, I can use the Fusion in my hand to give her quite a surprise.' "Now, I send Buster Blader to attack your White Magician Pikeru!" The swordsman ran up to swing its sword at the small magician when suddenly the priest stepped forward and put its hand out to stop the swordsman. It opened its book and showed the swordsman a passage. The Buster Blader nodded and walked back to Kokuro's side of the field. "And, what just happened?"

"My Messenger of Peace stops all monsters with an attack higher than 1500 from attacking as long as I give up 100 life points during each of my standby phases."

"That's not good!" Kokuro exclaimed. 'She'll keep gaining life and keeping me from attacking so that I won't be able to get to get her Life Points down to 4000 before the timer runs out.' He looked up at the screen to see that the timer was at 7:45 "I set one card under the table and end my turn."

"Now it's my turn. I lose 100 Life Points but gain 400 from Pikeru giving me a net gain of 300." (8300) "Next I'll summon Spirit of the Breeze!" she said as suddenly a spirit with its eyes closed appeared with a bit of swirling wind around it. (0/1800)

"It's a Clow Card!" Kokuro exclaimed.

"A…what?" Sonomi asked.

"A Clow Card," Mia said. "It looks like a Clow Card from Card Captor Sakura!"

"Hey, I guess it does," Setsuna said looking at it.

"I have absolutely no idea what any of you are talking about," Sonomi said completely confused.

"Either way," Setsuna began, "during each of my standby phases my Spirit of the Breeze will give me an extra 1000 Life Points, and my Pikeru will give me 800 since I have 2 monsters on my side of the field."

"Oh great, 10 minutes isn't nearly enough when you are facing a deck like this!" Kokuro exclaimed.

"Do you really think so?" Setsuna asked looking down at her deck. "I did make some changes to it over the summer," she said.

Kokuro drew his card and saw that it was his Black Magic Attack card. 'This could help me if I had my Black Magician on the field.' He thought. "I pass," he said sadly.

"It's my turn," She said drawing her card. "I lose 100, but gain 1800 for a net gain of 1700," Setsuna said happily. (10000) "Now I summon Ebon Magician Curran!" she exclaimed as a small girl in a black dress holding a whip and wearing mouse ears appeared on the field (1200/0). "With that I will end my turn."

Kokuro drew hoping to get a good card, he smiled when he saw it. "I set one monster on guard and end my turn."

"Now it's my turn," Setsuna said drawing. "Ready? First I lose 100, then I gain 1200 from my White Magician Pikeru, and then 1000 from my Spirit of the Breeze for an overwhelming net gain of 2100!" (12100) "And now, my Ebon Magician Curran's ability kicks in, for each monster on your side of the field you lose 300 Life Points, and since you have 3 you lose 900." The small magician took out its whip and hit Kokuro with it.

"Ok, there is no possible way to win this in 10 minutes," Kokuro said looking as his Life Points lowered. (7100) He saw that the screen now showed that it was 5:12.

"Maybe I should up the time a bit, I'll look into that, but first I summon Dancing Fairy's!" Suddenly three fairies appeared wearing pink dresses and dancing on the field. (1700/1000) "I have my Dancing Fairy's attack your on guard monster."

"Reverse Magic Cylinder," Kokuro called out, but in the back of his mind he was telling himself that he knew it wasn't doing much to help him win. The fairies went through the cylinder and came back out to hit Setsuna. She was pushed back a bit but mostly ok. (10400)

"Oh well, a small set back. I don't really want to attack with my other two so I will hold for now. Your turn."

"Ok, this is where I really need to have faith in my deck," he said pulling his card. He looked down at it and smiled. "First I reverse my Old Vindictive Magician to destroy your Pikeru." The old mage came onto the field and let loose a blast of red magic that hit Pikeru destroying it. "Next I offer up my Old Mage and Skilled Black Magician to summon Black Magician!" he called out as the two cards disappeared and his favorite card appeared with its arms crossed. "Now I activate Black Magic Attack! This will destroy all your Spells and Traps allowing me to attack again." The Black Magician gathered some energy and let it loose first destroying the Messenger of Peace and then aiming for the other two cards. Unexpectedly a purple monkey-like creature with a scroll in its hand appeared. The scroll read "FAKE." The monkey was destroyed but the other card was safe.

"I activated my Fake Trap, this allows me to keep all other traps on my side of the field safe from your spell's effect. So sorry. And then I will reverse my Trap Card, Wall of Revealing Light!"

"Oh come on!" Kokuro yelled slightly frustrated with the defenses.

"I sacrifice 5000 Life Points so none of your monsters with 5000 attack points or less can attack." (5400)

"I end my turn," Kokuro said glumly.

"Which makes it my turn," she said smiling. Now I gain 1000 Life Points thanks to my Spirit of the Breeze," she said as her Life Points increased. (6400) "And you lose 600 thanks to my Magician." The Magician whipped Kokuro causing his Life Points to drop (6500) "I switch my Dancing Fairy on guard and summon another White Magician Pikeru and end my turn."

Kokuro drew his card and sighed. "I pass."

"My move, and I gain 1000 from Spirit of the Breeze, another 1000 from Dancing Fairy's now that they are on guard, 1600 from White Magician Pikeru, and you lose 600 from Ebon Magician Curran." Setsuna gained a whole bunch of Life with the clock at 3:00 and Kokuro lost some more. (10000)

The magician whipped Kokuro causing him to lose more Life Points. (5900) "10 minutes _seriously _isn't enough time."

"But that's what makes it hard," she said. "I summon another Dancing Fairy and end my turn." More fairies appeared on the field smiling and dancing.

Kokuro drew his card and looked at it. "I activate Spell Absorption and end my turn."

"Here we go again," Setsuna said. "I gain 2000 from White Magician, 1000 each from my Spirit and Fairy's and you lose 600 from my Magician." (14000) Kokuro was whipped and he watched his Life Points fall again. (5300) "I switch my Dancing Fairy's that are in attack on guard and end my turn."

'Ok, if I don't draw anything good now, I'm done for,' he thought. Noticing it was now 2:25. He drew is card and looked at it. "I activate Pot Greed, I gain 500 Life Points and two new cards." His life points went up and he drew his two cards swiftly. (5800) "Perfect, I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, this allows me to destroy your Wall of Light and give me more Life Points! (6300)

"Oh no!" Setsuna cried out. A large burst of wind swept through the field causing the light from the wall to fade and disappear.

"Now I activate Fusion allowing me to fuse my Buster Blader and my Black Magician together to form my Black Paladin!" (6800) The two monsters on the field swirled together and formed a tall magician clad in armor with purplish, grayish robes, and holding a long sword. (2900/2400)

"What an awesome card!" Mia gasped.

"Where…where did he find such a rare card?" Sonomi wondered.

"Finally, I activate Diffusion-Wave Motion, allowing me to attack all monsters on your side of the field for the cost of 1000 Life Points, however, I also gain 500 back." (6300) "Now, attack all her monsters!" The Spellcaster raised its sword and gathered up energy. The energy was released and sliced through all of Setsuna's monsters. "And for your Pikeru, Curran, and Spirit of the Breeze you lose Life Points."

Setsuna stared in horror as all of her cute monsters were destroyed right before her eyes. She watched as her Life Points were significantly lowered but not enough to lose the LPC yet. (7700)

"I end my turn," Kokuro said.

Setsuna drew her card and looked at it. "I set one card under the table and end my turn."

Kokuro drew his card and did some quick math in his head. "This will allow me to win the LPC," he said as he watched the timer now at 1:00. "I remove Skilled White and Skilled Black from the game to summon Chaos Sorcerer." The purple skinned magician with its long flowing black cape appeared on the field. Suddenly another Wall of Revealing Light appeared.

"3000," Setsuna called out decreasing her Life Points. (4700)

Kokuro just stood in awe as the light froze his magicians. He watched as the timer went down and knew he didn't have enough time to make any other moves that could get him close enough to winning the duel. He just watched it as it ran out to 0. The Holograms disappeared and Kokuro sighed. "Oh well. I'm sure I could have still won, just not in 10 minutes."

"Now I feel a little guilty," Setsuna said as she looked at the timer. "During that duel I did realize that it can be really hard to win with only 10 minutes against the changes I made to my deck. Should I up it to 20?"

"You are the one who made the rules, you have to figure that out yourself," Kokuro said smiling. "It was fun, so it doesn't matter if I didn't win the prize today. You are a good duelist, maybe tomorrow I'll beat you," he said shaking her hand.

"But remember, tomorrow there will be a different challenge."

"I'm sure there will be," he said smiling giving her a thumbs up. "Well, in any case, I don't see why I shouldn't treat myself to some booster packs with my Duelist Points." Kokuro walked over to the display cases to search for some Magicians Force booster packs but he couldn't find any. "That's strange. Don't you carry Magicians Force?"

Setsuna looked a little confused and walked towards him, "Of course we do." They looked for a few moments but nobody could come across any. Setsuna was stumped until she remembered something, "Oh wait, I did sell a whole bunch to an Osiris Red student this morning. But I don't see how she bought _all _of them." The others just looked at each other, "Although come to think of it, she did have a good amount on her hands. In any case I guess I'll just have to restock. Sorry about that," she said.

"No, that's ok, just a little surprising." Kokuro bought a few packs with his DP while Mia and Sonomi bought a few. Kokuro's eyes came across something that made him really happy. "Setsuna, could I get one of these?" he asked holding up a Kuriboh Plushy.

"Of course!" she said smiling.

"A Kuriboh Plushy!" Mia squealed. She ran over and saw a basket with a few Kuriboh Plushies in it. "I want one too!"

"Ok," Setsuna said. "Here's a small secret. I've ordered the entire Kuriboh Plushy set and the Sleepy Sheep set. So pretty soon we will have all the colors of the Sleepy Sheep and the Kuriboh Brothers, along with Hane Kuriboh, and Kurininja, and all them!"

"Oh yay!" Mia squealed.

"You two are seriously going to spend your Duelist Points on something like those?" Sonomi asked skeptical.

"ABSOLUTELY!" Mia and Kokuro exclaimed together.

"Besides," Kokuro said, "We should all have a bunch of DP with all the duels we've been in. Would you like one?" he asked Sonomi.

She walked over to the bin and picked one up. She poked at its mouth with her finger a few times and gave it a little curious look. Suddenly the memory of her dream appeared and she gave the Kuriboh Plushy a death glare. She tossed it back in the bin and turned away, "I don't need to spend my Duelist Points on something so stupid."

Kokuro, Mia, and Setsuna felt like their hearts had been stabbed out. Mia went over to the poor plush toy that Sonomi had discarded and looked at it with sad eyes. She turned to Sonomi, "But for a moment it looked like you wanted it."

"Even if I did," she said trying to speak in a tone saying she didn't. "I have more important things to spend my Duelist Points on."

Kokuro looked between the poor Kuriboh Plushy and Sonomi. Suddenly a light popped up in his head, "I'll get it for you," he said taking the plush toy out of Mia's hands.

"What!" Sonomi exclaimed turning around to face Kokuro as he walked past her. "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting the Kuriboh Plushy for you," he said matter-of-factly.

"But I don't want it!" she said trying to stop him. "Why would you waste even more DP on something so stupid?

Kokuro wasn't listening; he was doing business with Setsuna. "You have quite a lot of Duelist Points, but for everything you want you're a few shy," she informed him.

Kokuro pondered this and then said, "I'll put back a booster pack. I didn't really want this one anyway," he said putting the pack aside.

Sonomi was going on an Anime Tangent, "What are you doing! That could have a lot of really good cards in it!"

"Nice doing business with you," Setsuna said smiling.

Kokuro smiled back and then went to Sonomi and handed the Kuriboh Plushy out to her. "Here you go it's all yours."

Sonomi was out of her tangent and just staring blankly at Kokuro and the little plush figure in his hand. "Why are you doing this?"

"I'm not doing anything, it's already done," he said again matter-of-factly.

"Fine, why _did _you do this?" She asked.

"Because…" he began.

"Because…" Sonomi asked trying to get the answer.

"Because…I wanted to!" he said smiling.

Sonomi got upset now, "Why did you want to do it! Why did you do it! I already said I didn't want it!"

"I don't think that's true," Kokuro said with a bit of seriousness on his face. "I think you did want it, but you just won't relax. If you think something is a waste of money, or in this case Duelist Points, even if you do secretly want it, you won't get it. Something as insignificant as this, which only costs a few DP, if it doesn't serve any real purpose to you or your deck, then you won't get it." Sonomi just stared at him and the little plush toy. He turned his face towards his plush toy, "I know it won't do anything for me, and that it was probably a waste of DP, but it was cute and I wanted it. It seemed like something fun to have, and I figured if I could enjoy it, then it really wouldn't be a waste after all. So I got it."

"He's so kind," Setsuna whispered to Mia.

"I think deep down, all he wants is for her to not be so uptight," Mia whispered back.

"I could tell you wanted it, so I got it for you because I'm your friend," Kokuro said. "And as long as you enjoy it, and are thankful that you received it, then it wasn't a waste." He held out the plushy to her again, "So please accept it as what it is. Not a little piece of cloth with a few beans inside of it in the form of a Duel Monster, but as a gift from a friend."

Sonomi slowly stared at the Kuriboh Plush, and at it's big eyes staring up at her. 'A…gift?' she thought to herself. The memory of the dream came back to her, but then she slowly looked at Kokuro holding the small gift. 'From…a friend.' Without realizing what she was doing she reached out and took the small toy. Next thing she new it was sitting there in her hands looking up at her. She looked at Kokuro who was smiling now. "Thank you," she said holding it.

"So, what do you want to do now?" Mia asked.

"I know what I want to do," Kokuro said walking to Setsuna. "Do you have a piece of paper?" She nodded and handed him some paper and a pen. He wrote something on the paper and then handed it to her.

She recognized what it was immediately, "Your PDA number? You're not asking me out are you?"

Kokuro chuckled, "No, I was hoping you could send me a message when you get the other plushies you mentioned."

Setsuna smiled, "I sure will! And I'll contact you when we get more Magicians Force packs as well."

"Thank you," Kokuro said. "It was fun dueling you."

"Likewise," she said.

"Well, if you are all ready, I guess we can go do something else now," Kokuro said.

"I declare dinner!" Mia said.

"Alright!" Kokuro said. "Race ya?"

"Why not?" Mia said. "You in Sonomi?"

"I think I'll just walk there," she said.

"Alright," Kokuro said. "On your mark, get se…" Before he could finish Mia took off. "CHEATER!" He called after her as he raced her down.

Sonomi walked out of the card shop and thought about the dream she had had that night. She then looked at the toy and the dream caused her to glare at it. But then she remembered Kokuro and how he had so selflessly bought it for her. 'It's a gift from a friend,' she thought. She hugged the small plushy sadly for a few seconds and then slowly followed after her friends.

In the boardroom all the teachers, including Seto Kaiba and Jukata Sensei, were sitting in their usual seats. "I'm sure you all are well aware of what this meeting is about," Kaiba said to the group.

"The student in the North School," Professor Hikari said sternly.

"Yes," Kaiba said. "I'm considering transferring him here."

"Are you sure about this?" Professor Hikari asked. "Not to question your wisdom, but I think we are all in agreement that we want to be sure you have thought this over."

Kaiba sighed, "I understand your hesitation on this matter. I've thought about it well enough to measure the pros and cons and as of right now the pros outweigh the cons."

"And what are the pros?" Jukata-Sensei asked.

"The fact that as long as he is here, I will be able to watch over him much more easily than if he was at the North School. Also, I plan on putting him in Osiris Red, under the "strict" supervision of you Jukata-Sensei. Is that a problem for you?"

"No, but are you sure I will be able to handle him myself?"

"I will have you report to me everyday on the status of him. I'm thinking giving him a 'tutor' might also help keep an eye on him." Professor Hikari sighed causing Kaiba to look at him questioningly, "Problem?"

"This kid is going to be a pain in our asses," he said bluntly.

"True, which brings me to the other pro, the three main students of Ra Yellow."

Professor Hikari let out a huff, "Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia right?"

Kaiba nodded, "Yes, ever since I noticed Mr. Samé , I could tell that he has a passion for dueling, and a positive outlook. If you have noticed, he seems to be brining down Ms. Hinote's attitude a bit. Along with those two Ms. Notosa's outlook is exceptionally bright along with her dueling skills. I think if he has just enough interactment with those three, he will not be such a problem any longer."

"Basically what you mean is you hope he won't be," Professor Hikari said staring at him.

Kaiba sighed, "Yes, pretty much."

This time Jukata Sensei spoke up, "Master Kaiba, you seem to have taken an interest in Mr. Samé, may I ask how come?"

Kaiba just smiled, "His dueling. It's exceptional. The last time I saw someone with so much dueling spirit, it came from Yugi Mouto. There is something about Kokuro Samé that makes me drawn to him. Then again, you all would have to know my past, in order to truly understand what I mean. Gentlemen, you are dismissed."


	9. Burden Off My Back, Sonomi vs Mia

Sdrive: Own it, I don't. But write it, I do.

* * *

It was nighttime and the stars were shining brightly. It was a cloudless night and the air was clean and crisp. Sonomi was lying in her bed sleeping when she suddenly woke up. She did not have a nightmare again like the previous night, instead, she felt as though something was missing. She looked over bed to see that Mia was hugging her Kuriboh tightly in her sleep but Kokuro was nowhere to be seen. Checking her PDA she saw it was 12:00. She sent a quick message saying, "Where are you?" About a minute later she got one back saying, "Outside."

'What could he be doing out side?' she thought to herself. She snuck out of her bed and grabbed her jacket. Walking out of the dorm she looked around for any sign of him, but couldn't find any. She walked around searching until she came across him by one of the cliffs overlooking the ocean. He was lying down with his arms behind his head and seemed to be staring up at the sky. "What do you think you are doing here?" she asked him sternly.

"I couldn't sleep, so I came out here to get some air."

"When I can't sleep I duel." She said sitting down. She looked at him and noticed that the small Kuriboh he had gotten was lying on top of his head, its eyes to the sky as well. "Why'd you bring that thing?" she asked pointing to it.

"I wanted some company so I brought it," he said matter-of-factly.

"You can say that with a straight face?" she asked him.

"Well, I didn't want to wake you or Mia so I brought Cinnamon."

"You named it…cinnamon?" she asked skeptically.

He took it off his forehead and sat up, "Yes, its name is Cinnamon," he said looking down at the big purple eyes.

"You're really weird," she said dryly.

"And you're uptight," he said staring into her eyes. "But I'm your friend anyway."

She felt her heart jump for a moment, 'What the hell was that?' she thought to herself. She realized that her hands were shaking a bit. 'Why am I getting so nervous? He's just a boy. A weird boy who names his stuffed Duel Monsters after spices, so what's to be so worked up about? Is it because he's looking right into my eyes?'

"Are you cold?" he asked her taking notice of her hands.

"I'm fine," she said rather stubbornly wrapping her jacket around her to hide her shaking hands. Then in a bit of a softer voice she asked, "What were you thinking about?"

"I was thinking about how you seem so uptight some of the time and then how you seem depressed other times."

"I thought you said you couldn't sleep."

"I couldn't."

"So why were you thinking about me?"

"Because you are the reason I can't sleep."

"I don't…understand."

Kokuro shrugged, "Maybe it's just me," he said. "I come from a sister who is always cheerful, a friend who is always determined, and another friend who is smarter than me in pretty much every aspect and despite it all I know them so well. I know when they are upset, and I can usually figure out why. I can help them, and I like helping them. But you," he said staring at her again. "I feel like I can't help you and that's why I can't sleep. I like helping people; I enjoy making them feel better. But to see you all upset all the time, and to not know how to help you…it bothers me."

"Why do you feel like you should help me?"

"Because," he took a small pause, "that's what friends do."

Sonomi looked down at the ground, "it's nothing against you, honest. It's just some personal problems I have." She stared out across the sea, "Who knows, maybe I'm just an emotional wreck. Out here, on this island, is the only place I have been able to duel and not have the constant feeling of hatred toward me, and yet even here, I can still feel it."

"Why would someone hate you for the way you duel?" Kokuro asked.

"Because I'm not good enough for them," she said angrily. She clenched her teeth and fists and started growling at the thought of painful memories unknown to Kokuro. Suddenly she felt Kokuro's hand on top of hers. She relaxed a tad and looked up to see Kokuro's pained eyes.

"You're good enough to me," he said. "You are an amazing duelist. Your skills are beyond anything I've seen before. I don't know what happened to you, to make you feel like you need to be the best all the time, but I know how good you are right now. And I'm happy for you. If you ever need someone to talk to, you can come find me, I'll always have an open ear."

Sonomi's eyes started tearing. It was the first time Kokuro had ever seen her cry, and he was uncomfortable about it. He was so used to her being strong and not letting such an emotion ever show. Without realizing what was happening next, Sonomi hugged him. He put his arms around her and whispered, "It's alright, I'll always be here to help."

He felt her pulling away and let go. She wiped her eyes and looked at him. "I'm sorry. I'm not normally like this," she said standing up.

He got up with her, "Sometimes all anyone needs to do is share his or her emotions with someone else," he said.

She nodded, "I'm ready to face Mia now," she said softly.

"Go get her," he said smiling a little. She smiled back and gave him more of a friendly hug this time. This was the first time Kokuro didn't blush, then again, he knew he had comforted her. She felt his arms wrap around her and she smiled knowing she had such a good friend who cared for her.

"Oh, and thank you for the little plush toy," she said. "I'm sorry I was such a jerk about it."

Kokuro just chuckled picking up his toy, "Like I said, if it can bring you happiness, then it wasn't a waste."

"You've been so nice to me, the Kuriboh, the booster pack with Infernal Flame Emperor…"

"Which reminds me," he said cutting her off. He reached into his deck and pulled out his side deck. He scanned through it a few times straining to see what was there since it was dark out. He finally found what he was looking for and handed a card to her. "Here, I was going to give this to you earlier, to go along with the plushy, but I figure now is as good enough of a time to give it to you."

She took the card and looked down at it and couldn't help but give a small chuckled. It was a Kuriboh. "Wow, and here I was thinking it would be a Blue Eyes White Dragon," she said laughing.

Kokuro couldn't help but laugh with her, "Nope, just a weak defenseless little Kuriboh who will selflessly send himself to the graveyard to protect his friend."

"Kind of like you eh? You'll do anything to protect your friend?"

"Do I have to go to the graveyard?" Kokuro asked laughing as Sonomi laughed with him. "Well, lets get going," Kokuro said and they both headed back to the dormitory. They were walking in silence when Kokuro said softly, "but I will do anything to help a friend." Sonomi turned to look at him, and wonder if it would be the same for her.

* * *

In the morning Sonomi confronted Mia when she was heading to the bathroom to brush her teeth. "Good morning Sonomi," Mia said cheerfully as ever.

"Mia, I'm going to be blunt, I challenge you to a duel today after class."

"Oh, ok, but how come?"

"Because I know that last year you threw that duel for me so that you could make me happy. But it didn't make me happy; it tormented me until I couldn't take it anymore. So now I challenge you, to get this weight off my shoulders."

"You should have told me you didn't like it that I let you win. Of course I'll duel you again if that's what will make you happy."

"It will, thank you," she said. "Catch you after class," and with that Sonomi ran off to get to her first class. She was surprised to see Kokuro already there already in his seat reading a book. She ran up the steps and tapped his shoulder as she sat down. "I have my rematch," she said happily.

"I'm glad," he said smiling at her.

"I'm…I'm ready to finally let this weight go," she said a little uneasily. Then barely muttering, "Even if it means having to face _him_."

"You say something?" Kokuro asked.

She looked up, "No, just talking to myself, nothing important. I upped my deck a bit. I guess I always knew I would have to face her again someday, so I stacked in all my 'Anti-Mia cards.'

"Anti-Mia cards?" he asked skeptically.

"Cards that will put her deck off balance."

"Right," he said giving her the impression he thought she was crazy.

"I am not crazy!" she said raising her voice at him.

"Right," he said again.

Sonomi and Mia were on opposite sides of the dueling field with their Duel Disks at hand. They slid them on and inserted their decks. Their Duel Disks folded out and they each cried out "Duel!"

"This will be an official Duel Monster League Challenge!" Kokuro said from the referee stand. "The challenger, Sonomi, will face the Gym Leader, Mia for an Academy Badge, the players may only use 8000 Life Points. Only the challenger can make substitutions. When…"

"Enough already!" Sonomi cried out as she drew her cards. 'Excellent, I've already drawn some of my "Anti-Mia cards"'

"Mia will begin," Kokuro said. Causing a minor objection from Sonomi.

Mia drew her 6th card and looked at her hand. "I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon Lv 4!" The metallic bird-like dragon appeared on the field and gave off a small roar. (1600/1000) "Next I activate Level Up turning him into Horus the Black Flame Dragon Lv 6!" The dragon began to grow larger and it roared even louder. (2300/1600) "I'll set one card under the table and end my turn," Mia said.

"My move," Sonomi said drawing. "I summon Solar Flare Dragon in attack mode!" she said as her flaming dragon appeared on the field, (1500/1000) "Next I set two cards under the table and end my turn," she said. "Because of my Solar Flare Dragon, you lose 500 Life Points." The dragon reared back its head and fired a ball of fire at Mia.

Mia endured the attack as she drew her card. (7500) "It will take more than that to beat me. I summon Silent Magician Lv 4" she said as the small white haired magician with the white and blue robed appeared on the field. (1000/1000) "Now, Black Flame Dragon, attack Solar Flare Dragon!" The Dragon let loose a stream of black fire that headed for Sonomi's monster when a barrier appeared in front of the monster. "What?"

"Reverse Trap Card, Draining Shield. Now I gain 2300 Life Points, thanks Mia." (10300)

"You're welcome. I end my turn."

"And I begin mine!" she said drawing her card. Silent Magician started glowing and her attack power increased. (1500/1000) "I summon Raging Flame Sprite!" she said as a small sprite like monster appeared on the field with a small wand in its hand. (100/200) "Raging Flame Sprite has the ability to attack your Life Points, so go Raging Flame Sprite!" The Sprite began to charge up its wand when all the monsters on the field started floating. When they stopped they were all in an on guard stance."

"Too bad for you I reversed my set Zero Gravity changing the positions of all monsters."

"I'm not worried that much," Sonomi said. "I set one card under the table and end my turn causing you to take another 500 life points." The dragon attacked Mia gain causing her to stumble a bit. (7000)

"It's my turn, draw!" Mia said.

"I reverse my Curse of Darkness," Sonomi said as her newly set trap flipped up.

"So you don't want me using Spells huh? Well, I summon Ultimate Insect Lv 3," she said as the small blue and red bug appeared on the field. (1400/900) "Next I will switch my Horus and my Silent Magician to attack mode. Go Horus, attack the Raging Flame Sprite."

"I don't think so!" Sonomi called out. "Reverse Gravity Bind."

"Oh no, now I really can't attack at all."

'So, I guess Gravity Bind is one of her "Anti-Mia cards"' Kokuro thought. 'Mia's monsters level up and when they do that their star levels rise as well making it nearly impossible for Mia to attack.'

"I still have my Ultimate Insect, so I have it attack your Raging Flame Sprite!"

"Reverse Negate Attack!" Sonomi called out as a swirling vortex pushed the bug back.

'Sonomi got a good hand for stopping attacks,' Kokuro thought. 'However, in reality she just got lucky that she got such good monster stopping cards on her first draw. Still, it doesn't mean she didn't build her deck well. These are the kinds of duels that really push a duelist to their limit'

"I end my turn," Mia said.

"Now mine begins," Sonomi said as she drew Silent Magician got stronger. (2000/1000) "I summon another Solar Flare Dragon!" she called out as another of the large dragons appeared. "Now, I switch my Raging Flame Sprite to attack mode and have it attack you!" The sprite powered up its wand and hit Mia with a bit of fire. (6900) "My sprite now gains an extra 1000 attack points for hitting your Life Points directly. (1100/200) So now I end my turn and you lose 1000 from my two dragons!" The two dragons blasted Mia and she was knocked backwards. (5900)

Mia stood up and drew her card. "Alright Sonomi, you don't want me going easy, then here we go! First my Ultimate Insect evolves into Ultimate Insect Lv 5," she said as her much larger bug appeared on the field. (2300/900) "And now that it's on the field your monsters each lose 500 attack points." Raging Flame Sprite: (600/200) Solar Flare Dragon x2 (1000/1000). "Now, I sacrifice my Horus for Armed Dragon Lv 5!" She exclaimed as the large orange dragon with the metal armor appeared on the field. (2400/1700) "Now it's time for Heavy Storm!" she said as suddenly a large wind picked up. "It may cost me 1000 Life Points due to your Trap Card, but now all the traps on the field are destroyed!" (4900)

'This is what I was afraid of,' Kokuro thought. 'Now Sonomi's in a tough spot again.'

"Go Armed Dragon attack the Raging Flame Sprite." The dragon let out a blast of fire that hit the Sprite destroying it depleting some of Sonomi's Life Points. (8500)

"Since your Solar Flare Dragons special ability states that I can't attack it, I'll set one card under the table and end my turn. Now the fun begins! Since my Armed Dragon Lv. 5 destroyed a monster this turn I can evolve it into the much larger Armed Dragon Lv. 7!"

"I thought you didn't have that other Armed Dragon!" Sonomi said shocked.

"I pulled it yesterday!" she said smiling. The dragon got much larger and the armor on its body got larger, and stronger. It now looked like a dragon that no one would ever want to mess with. (2800/1000)

Sonomi drew her card and watched the Silent Magician get even stronger, (2500/1000) She looked down at the card and smiled. She placed it in her hand for later and took another card from it, "Prepare yourself Mia, I'm getting rid of that oversized dragon right now, I summon Ultimate Baseball Kid!" A small kid in a baseball uniform holding a spike bat appeared on the field. (500/1000) "My Baseball Kid may seem week now, but he gains 1000 extra attack points for every fire type on the field. And right now I count 2 so my Base Ball kid is now a 2500!"

"Too bad you forgot about my Ultimate Insect and how it makes your monster weaker by 500 attack points," Mia said as they all watched the Baseball Kid weaken. (2000/1000)

"Damn it," Sonomi said rather softly. 'I knew this would happen. I forgot all about that thing.'

'Sonomi's letting the pressure of this duel effect her,' Kokuro thought. 'Come on Sonomi, relax a little, try to have some fun.'

"I switch my Solar Flare Dragon on guard and end my turn causing you to take another 1000."

The two dragons attacks hit Mia but she held her ground. (3900) "Now, it is time to show you what my dragon can really do! I drop this Flying Kamakiri from my hand to destroy _all _monsters with attack equal to or lower than the attack of my Kamakiri. The dragon let out blasts of fire that destroyed both of Sonomi's Solar Flare Dragons in turn causing Ultimate Baseball Kid to drop down to a 0 attack point monster and also be destroyed.

Kokuro gasped, "Sonomi won't lose the duel but she will lose most of her Life Points if this next attack gets through!"

"Now my Level Monsters attack the player directly!" Mia called out as all the monsters let loose their attacks.

"I'm not taking as much damage as you may think," Sonomi called out. She took a card from her hand and slid it into her Graveyard. Suddenly Kuriboh appeared on the field and blocked the attack of the Armed Dragon.

"All right!" Kokuro cheered.

"I didn't realize you had a Kuriboh in your deck now," Mia said smiling. "Unfortunately you still take the attack of my Silent Magician and Ultimate Insect!" she said as the two attacks hit Sonomi knocking her down. (3700) "I end my turn."

Sonomi slowly stood up, 'Come on, I need to know that I can beat her, I need to know that I have what it takes,' she said pulling her card. The Silent Magician grew stronger but Sonomi was more concerned with what card she drew. (3000/1000) She looked down at it, "I activate Graceful Charity, I draw three cards and drop two." She looked down at the cards in her hand and chose two cards. "Now, I sacrifice your Armed Dragon lv 7 and Ultimate Insect Lv 5 in order to Special Summon Lava Golem to your side of the field!" She called out as the large golem appeared on Mia's side of the field trapping her in a large metal cage. "I'll set one card under the table and end my turn."

Mia drew her card and felt the hot lava from Lava Golem come down on her. (2900) "I don't know what you are planning, but I won't give up without a fight. I summon Silent Swordsman Lv 3!" She said as her small sword-wielding warrior appeared on the field. "Now I attack you with all three!"

"Reverse Gravity Bind!" Sonomi called out. The energy nets appeared on the field again and caught the Lava Golem and the Silent Magician in their place. "Now you can't deplete my Life Points," Sonomi called out.

"Maybe not but I can still attack you with the Silent Swordsman!" The swordsman ran up to Sonomi and slashed her across the chest. She stumbled a bit but otherwise she was ok. (2700) "I end my turn."

"I guess I don't have to worry about your Silent Swordsman once it evolves," Sonomi said drawing and watched as the Silent Magician gained its last spell counter. (3500/1000) "I don't have to worry about the Silent Magician either," she said.

"I can still win this," Mia said.

"I'm sure you can," Sonomi said.

'Sonomi had made a mistake that could have made her lose," Kokuro thought. 'Originally, she would have taken an extra 2800 due to Armed Dragon and that would have brought her down to 900 causing that last attack by Silent Swordsman to finish her off. But thanks to the Kuriboh I gave her she was able to draw out the Lava Golem, Gravity Bind combo and slowly dwindle down Mia's Life Points. It hurts to watch Mia lose, she's such a good duelist, but I'm happy that Sonomi is winning too. I guess that's what happens when you are watching two friends duel. You don't want to see either of them lose, but you know that one of them has to lose in the end. However, like Sonomi said, Mia could still turn this duel around.'

"I summon Raging Flame sprite," Sonomi said as her small sprite appeared. (100/200) "Flame Sprite attack the player!" The sprite flew over to Mia and hit her with a small burst of fire. (2800) "My Flame Sprite gets stronger and then I end my turn." (1100/200)

Mia drew and the Lava Golem melted on top of her again. (1800) "You won't beat me right away. My Swordsman and Magician both evolve now." The two level monsters both began to glow and transform. They both got taller and much stronger. Silent Swordsman Lv 5 (2300/1000) Silent Magician Lv 8 (3500/1000). "Now I summon Ultimate Insect Lv 3 and have it attack your Flame Sprite!" The insect went towards the small sprite and destroyed it causing Sonomi to lose 300 of her Life Points. (2400) "That ends my turn."

"Won't give up eh?" Sonomi asked Mia.

"You asked me not too," she replied.

"You're right I did," she said smiling back.

'In the end, I don't think it will matter who wins this duel,' Kokuro thought to himself. 'I'm sure they will stay friends no matter what.'

Sonomi drew her card and looked down at it. "I hate to do it to you Mia, but I sacrifice your Ultimate Insect and your Silent Magician and summon my _second _Lava Golem."

"You keep two?" Kokuro asked a little stunned.

"Yep. And so now I end my turn."

Mia sighed, she drew her card and the two golems melted on top of her causing her to lose the last of her Life Points. (0) The golems disappeared and Mia was freed from the cages. Sonomi let out a large sigh of relief, glad that it was over at last. Mia ran over to her along with Kokuro.

"Great job Sonomi," Mia said giving her a small hug.

"Yeah, you were awesome," Kokuro said. Sonomi gave Kokuro a small hug. "What was that for?" he asked with a face mixed with nervousness and curiosity."

"Just didn't want you to feel left out," she said turning around, but showing a bit of mischievous on her face. 'It's also a thank you for everything you've done for me and for being such a great friend to me,' she thought to herself.

"Well, I guess you got your conscious cleared knowing that you can actually beat her," Kokuro said.

"Yeah," she said turning to Mia, "and I'm sorry I didn't tell you how I felt sooner."

"It's alright. I guess I should probably stop trying to let everyone else win huh?"

"It just shows that you have a good heart," Kokuro told her.

"Thanks guys," she said.

"Well, who wants lunch?" Sonomi asked smiling.

"WE DO!" Kokuro and Mia said together. "Race ya?" Mia said turning to Kokuro only to find he was already running.

He screamed back, "I say, I'm already half way there!"

"CHEATER!" she screamed at him as she ran to catch up.

Sonomi couldn't help but laugh at the crazy antics of her two friends. It made her realize that she had never really experienced that kind of fun. It made her sad realizing that she was always so uptight about everything, as Kokuro had said, she never really relaxed and took a break. She then realized that pretty much ever since Kokuro had come to Duelist Academy, her attitude had been changing little by little. It started when he had accidentally put on the wrong uniform, and then went on from there. She thought about how focused Kokuro was inside of a duel, always calm and determined, and how crazy he was outside, like he didn't even have a single care in the world. 'Why can't I be like that?' she asked herself. The answer came in the form of her dream, and the horrible past it represented.

She took her bag off her shoulder and peaked in at the small Kuriboh Plushy she had hidden in there. As embarrassed, as she was to admit it, she liked the little toy. 'Kokuro had it on his _head _out in plain view. Granted it was nighttime, but anyone who had gone close enough to him would have seen it. The least I can do is carry it around, especially since he got it for me. Mia and Kokuro have given me so many chances, why can't I give _myself _a chance?' She pondered this question while she walked down to the cafeteria.

Mia and Kokuro were already at the lunch table by the time Sonomi had gotten there. "Behold, my Master Kuriboh is empowered with Riryoku, you can not defeat it," he was saying in a stupid low toned voice.

"Well _my_ Kuriboh has the power of Exodia! You can't beat it!" Mia replied.

"Ahh, but you forget, Kuriboh has Riryoku, he takes half of infinity from your Exodia and applies it to himself causing your Exodia to be half infinity weaker, making my Kuriboh stronger by half of infinity plus 300 making it..."

"Still not a real number and therefore getting beaten," Sonomi said sitting down next to him.

"What?" Kokuro said. "No way, if it's taken away half of Exodia's power…"

"Exodia's power is infinite, you can't take away half of infinity," she stated.

"You use the same fun-spoiling logic that my friend back home uses," he said sighing in defeat.

"Glad to hear it," she said laughing. When they were done they cleared their places and then began walking back to their dormitory when something caught Sonomi's eyes. "Hey Mia, did you hear anything about a boat being docked today?"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"There is a boat down by the docks," she said looking down at the docks.

"It's probably just the mail boat," she responded.

"No," Sonomi said narrowing her eyes a bit. "This boat is too big for that. It looks like it actually has people inside of it."

"Really?" Mia asked finally looking down at the docks. "Hey you're right. Lets go check it out."

The three of them walked down to the docks and looked on with some of the other students as the boat finished docking. Kokuro noticed that Seto Kaiba was down there as well, his eyes not leaving the vessel. 'I wonder who is on that boat?' Kokuro thought to himself.

The hatch opened and a lone person stepped out into the sunlight. He had a backpack on, a suitcase in his right hand, and a small black briefcase in the other. He was wearing a black trench coat with a dark blue shirt underneath. He seemed rather tall to Kokuro. He had dark blue eyes and long dark purple hair. He wore a look on his face, half of it a smirk as he saw the students standing around him, and the other a look of annoyance when he saw Seto Kaiba.

Kaiba had an emotionless face as he stared up at the boy. He walked up to him and started speaking with him. After a few moments Kaiba walked down the ramp and began to head off back towards the academy, but not before his eyes caught sight of Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia. 'It looks like they will be meeting earlier than expected,' he thought as he continued on his way.

The three stood there and watched the boy smirk as Kaiba walked away from him. He walked down the ramp seemingly ignoring everyone else there until he made eye contact with Sonomi. He walked up to her setting his suitcase down. "Well, well, if it isn't the Legend of the academy, Sonomi Hinote," he said with a menacing voice. "I've been waiting a long time to finally meet you."

"And why is that?" she asked sounding confident even though she was slightly intimidated by him.

"Because I want duel you and once I win I'll be the best of all the Duelist Academy Schools," he said, his smirk still in place.

"What makes you think you can win?" she asked a bit more confidently this time.

"I have studied your strategies and know exactly how to overcome each and everyone of them," came the reply.

"I doubt you will ever be able to beat me," she said.

"Maybe if you knew who I was, you would know that I could."

"And just who are you?" she asked folding her arms.

"My name is Nushi," he said calmly.

"Wait, you mean Ritsuzen Nushi?" she asked a little nervously, her arms dropping.

"The very same," he said smirking.

"Who is he Sonomi?" Kokuro asked.

"He's supposed to be the Legend of the North School," she replied.

"Not 'supposed to be,'" he said. "I _am_."

"Wow, you must be pretty tough then," Kokuro said. "You and I will have to duel some day."

"I don't duel insignificant cretins any longer," he said blowing Kokuro off.

"Excuse me," Kokuro said annoyed.

"I only duel students of the highest rankings. Once I beat little Hinote here, I will have no more need to duel anyone here."

Kokuro didn't like Ritsuzen's attitude, "I'll have you know I beat Professor Hikari," he said.

"You beat who now? Ah yes, that insignificant teacher who was supposedly never beaten by a student before. Try defeating Ms. Hinote over here and then I _might_ consider your challenge."

"I…" Kokuro began but Sonomi cut him of.

"He already has," she said sternly.

"What?" Ritsuzen asked raising his eyebrow a tad.

"He already has beaten me," Sonomi responded.

"You are referred to as a Legend and yet you let a simple first year beat you?"

"How did you know I was…" Kokuro began.

"I am well aware that the only other person to beat that fool Hikari was a first year. It was then I knew that he was nothing more than a simple teacher. But to find out, right now, that the very first year in question defeated the 'Great Legend Sonomi' and that she is _still _referred to as a Legend? Well, I must say I am quite surprised. It almost makes me want to take back my cretin comment."

"What do you mean almost?" Kokuro asked.

"To find out that this school, filled with a bunch of so called 'Legendary Duelists,' is ultimately filled with a bunch of losers who are defeated by each other on a constant basis? This idea is not appealing to me."

"Sonomi and Kokuro have only dueled once," Mia said trying to defend her friends.

"And just who are you?" he asked ignoring her question.

"I'm…"

"Oh that's right, I forgot to tell you that I don't really care who you are."

"Stop picking on Mia," Kokuro and Sonomi both said at the same time, now glaring at Ritsuzen.

"Fine, I shall duel you boy," he said as he picked up his suitcase and began to walk towards the building. "We will duel tonight, in the Obelisk Blue Arena."

"What about wanting to duel me?" Sonomi asked.

"And why the Obelisk Blue Arena?" Kokuro asked.

"Because you lost," he said referring to Sonomi's question. "And because that is where I rank. With the Obelisks," came the reply to Kokuro's. With that he walked off towards the academy. "Now if you will excuse me, I must get my dormitory key."

"Well, their goes prince charming," Mia said dryly.

"When's the royal ball?" Sonomi asked just as dryly.

"The nerve of some people," Kokuro said angrily.

"That's just how some people are," Sonomi said.

"How dare he," Kokuro said getting really angry. "He insulted us, he blew you off for losing to me," he directed that statement to Sonomi. "And he insulted this school."

"You seem pretty fired up to defend the honor of the academy," Mia said a bit taken aback.

"He has no right to insult us," Kokuro said walking away from the others in the direction of the academy. 'I could handle Sonomi since she just randomly blew up at me and insisted that I ruined her life and I wanted to find out why,' he thought. 'But this new kid, I can tell that he's just a jerk. The power of being a Legend has gotten to his head, and I intend to show him what dueling is all about.'


	10. Honor Of The Academy And My Friends

Sdrive: I own Ritsuzen Nushi, and everyone else you have never heard of in the actual series. No one else.

* * *

Mia and Sonomi walked into their room to find Kokuro sitting looking through his deck. His Duel Disk was on his arm. He seemed to not even notice the two walk in. He finished looking through his deck and began absentmindedly shuffling it. It was at this time that he looked up and saw the two girls staring at him with worried looks.

"You seem rather upset," Mia said sitting down next to him. "I'm worried about you."

"I won't let him get away with insulting all of us," Kokuro said, anger still present in his voice.

"I haven't seen you this upset since before we dueled," Sonomi said with concern in her voice.

"You two are my friends, and although there are people who are stuck up in this school, I can't let some new person insult them."

"Well, I let a new person into Ra Yellow," Sonomi said trying to lighten the mood.

"No," he said sternly. Standing up he said, "My intentions weren't bad." With that he inserted his deck into his Duel Disk and stood in the doorframe. "I'm going to show him what dueling is all about, but more importantly, I'm going to protect my friends." With that he walked out the door.

"He's doing it mostly for us," Sonomi softly said to Mia. "He's standing up to him more for the fact that Ritsuzen insulted us, than for the fact that he insulted the whole school."

"That's so sweet of him," Mia said.

Sonomi was thinking back to the other night when her and Kokuro were walking back to the Academy. _"But I will do anything to protect a friend." _'That was what he said,' Sonomi thought to herself. She narrowed her eyes a bit and then grabbed her Duel Disk and slid it on her arm. "Lets go Mia," she said.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"We're going to support our friend," Sonomi said.

"Alright!" Mia said brightly grabbing her own Duel Disk and putting it on her arm.

* * *

Ritsuzen was sitting across from Seto Kaiba in his office. "I must admit, I was surprised when I found out that I would be transferred to this school," he said with his arms folded and a smirk on his face. "But I then became a tad bit annoyed when I found out this school has nothing to offer but worthless students." Kaiba looked like he was about to say something but Ritsuzen continued, "And then I realized how entertaining it could be to dance circles around the so called 'Legends' of the school."

"Let me tell you something right now Mr. Nushi," Kaiba said staring at him. "You were moved down here to be straightened out. Some of the duelists here are stronger than the ones at the North School and play the game for what it is, a game."

"Oh, and I seem to recall multiple articles stating that you believed this game to be about nothing but power."

"That was a long time ago. I built this school so that students could improve their dueling and play the game for fun. I will admit that I do still have a belief that in order to win you need to have a good deal of power. However that is not what the game is all about."

"Seto Kaiba, you are such a hypocrite. You say one thing and then the other. That is why I despise you."

"I don't care how you feel about me, as long as you are in this school you will follow my rules and do what I say."

"As you wish," he said sneering. "Now, if you will please give me my room key, I will be on my way."

It was Kaiba's turn to grin. He slid a card key across the desk to Ritsuzen who snatched it up. "Have fun."

Ritsuzen raised an eyebrow at him with a mix of question and confusion before looking down to exam the card key. When he noticed his dormitory he shoved it in Kaiba's face, "What is the meaning of this?" he yelled.

"Due to being transferred into a new school at the beginning of the year and for your constant insult to the students of other schools, I have decided to demote you to Osiris Red."

"You can't do that! I was an A student and a Legend Duelist of Obelisk Blue!"

"I can and I have. You may be an A student but I believe that you have forgotten what this school is supposed to be all about. So I am dropping you back down to remind you of what this school teaches. Perhaps if you straighten yourself out I will be kind enough to place you back in Obelisk Blue. Until then, you will reside in Osiris Red."

"But I have a duel scheduled against that loser first year in the Obelisk Blue Arena! How am I supposed to duel him if I can't get in there?"

"A duel against Mr. Samé already? I thought you would be after Ms. Hinote if anyone."

"She lost to a first year which means she doesn't deserve to be a Legend. I'll take out the kid who beat her and it will prove I am better than everyone else."

Kaiba's smirk turned into a grin, "Then how about I set up a wager?"

"What kind of wager?"

"If you win, I'll admit you into Obelisk Blue."

"You might as well prepare me a room now, oh, and make it a private room."

"Why don't you listen before you make your room arrangements. "If you lose, you will be assigned to Osiris Red with no arguments and you will also be accompanied by a tutor to keep watch over you at all times."

"So, if I win, I get one benefit and if I lose I am stuck with two forms of demotion? Give me a private room as well as my right to stay in Obelisk Blue and you have your self a wager Seto Kaiba."

Kaiba just grinned, "Fine, you have yourself a deal," he said shaking Ritsuzen's hand.

'This fool underestimates my abilities, and is too cowardly to fight his own battles. Beating that pathetic first year will be an easy victory."

'Ritsuzen is an excellent duelist, but Kokuro has shown signs of great inner strength. Ritsuzen underestimates Kokuro and overestimates his own abilities. I know it is unfair to do this to Kokuro, to keep putting 'student placement' bets on his shoulder, but I am confident is his abilities.'

"I will notify security to allow you entrance to the Obelisk Blue Arena," Kaiba said sitting back down. "Please let yourself out now."

"I'll see you shortly," Ritsuzen said picking up his briefcase. "Be a good person and have my bags taken to my room for me as well," he said walking out the door. Kaiba narrowed his eyes at him as he left.

* * *

Kokuro was standing on his side of the arena with his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed staring at where Ritsuzen would be. The Obelisk Blue Arena was a large room that could fit more than the Ra Yellow and Osiris Red Arena's combined. There were sophisticated decorations around the arena complimentary to the elegance of Obelisk Blue. Kokuro heard a noise behind him and turned slightly to see Sonomi and Mia coming in with Duel Disks attached to their arms. "What are you two doing here?" he asked them.

"We came to support the one who is defending us," Sonomi said walking up to him.

"Us and the whole school," Mia said following.

Kokuro glanced down at the Duel Disks, "And what's with those?"

"We fight together as a team," Sonomi said.

"All for one," Mia nodded.

"Thank you," he said softly. They heard a door opening ahead of them and all turned to see Ritsuzen walking through the door smirking.

"Good luck," Mia whispered giving him a hug.

"Wipe that smirk of his face," Sonomi said also giving him a hug.

The two walked over to the front row seats and sat down, Ritsuzen's eyes following them. "I see you brought your cheering squad," he snickered, "about all their good for."

"Stop insulting my friends," Kokuro said glaring at him.

"What are you going to do about it?" he mocked. "You don't have any hopes of defeating me."

"Lets skip the pre-banter chit chat and get straight to the dueling," Kokuro said allowing his Duel Disk to fold out.

"If that is what you wish," Ritsuzen said setting down his briefcase and taking out his deck. He shuffled it, and placed it in his Duel Disk causing the disk to fold out. "Duel" they both announced.

"If you don't mind I'll begin first," Kokuro said drawing his 6th card.

"You may go first or second, the outcome will be the same."

"We'll see," he said. Kokuro looked at the cards in his hand and decided his best course of action. "I summon White Magician Pikeru." The small magician clad in its white robes appeared on the field and gave a little twirl. (1200/0) "I'll also set three cards under the table and end my turn."

"A child is your starting creature? How pathetic," he said drawing his card. "Well, in any case, I shall activate my Gravekeepers Servant Spell Card." Suddenly a creature with a scythe appeared on the field in front of its Spell Card. "I'll explain what this does later. Next I will set one card under the table. Finally I shall set one monster on guard and be done with my turn."

"Not quite," Kokuro said as one of his cards flipped up. "I'll chain your setting to my Sleepy Sheep, now 4 Sheep Tokens will appear on my side of the field." 4 multi-color sheep appeared on Kokuro's side of the field. "Behold, the Sleepy Rangers," he said. "Sleepy Red, Sleepy Pink, Sleepy Blue, Sleepy Yellow, and the Sleepy Leader."

"You play with sheep and little girls," Ritsuzen said unimpressed. "You are more pathetic than I first believed.

"You call me pathetic and criticize my moves? Well I'm sorry but I thought that you were going to show me a 'true monster' but all you did was play defensive."

"It's called 'strategy' but I'm sure you have never heard of the word."

"Oh? Then check this out," Kokuro said drawing. Pikeru and the sheep all began to glow. "I gain 400 Life Points for each monster on my side of the field due to Pikeru's special ability. Since I have one Pikeru, and 4 sheep it gives me a grand total of 5 monsters allowing me to gain 2000 Life Points," he said as he watched his Life Points increase. (10000) "What do you think of that?"

"I think you used up all of your monster spaces and now only have on sacrificial monster to work with while meanwhile I have multiple spaces to work with."

"Well, if you think your strategy is so much better, lets see what you have, I send Pikeru to attack your face down monster!" The small magician leapt forward and let loose a small blast of white magic towards the card. A large pile of bones began to form on the field. The bone pile got higher and higher until it started to resemble a large tower going all the way past the ceiling. Multiple streams of light energy were swirling around the tower and some were entering it. One of the streams intercepted the blast of magic stopping it and then pushed the small magician backwards. (400/1500)

"This is my Soul Absorbing Bone Tower," Ritsuzen said with his arms crossed and grinning at the tower. "Its toughness is stronger than your monsters attack so you lose some Life Points." He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath as he heard the sound of Kokuro's Life Points going down. (9700) "Ahh, the sweet sound of life slowly seeping away from my opponent."

"You seem rather morbid," Mia commented.

"I simply enjoy the sound of defeat."

"Then go play some slot machines," Sonomi said dryly.

"In any case, I hope you realize that by attacking with a monster, you have in turn triggered the effect of my Gravekeepers Servant. Every time you attack, you must discard the top card off your deck."

"What?" Kokuro said as the creature came towards Kokuro's deck holster and brought its scythe down on the top card. It picked it up revealing Kokuro's Magic Cylinder and slid it into the graveyard. "I could have used that card," he growled.

"I am sure you could have," he said. "Unfortunately I don't see you getting it back. Now, if you would kindly end your turn." Kokuro nodded causing Ritsuzen to grin, "good." He drew his card and smiled. "I activate The Cheerful Coffin. This card allows me to discard up to three monsters from my hand and send them directly to the Graveyard."

"How could you have such an utter disrespect for your cards?"

"My monsters are all Zombies and Demons, they prefer to be summoned from the Graveyard, and summon them I shall," he said as he took two of the cards from his hand and discarded them. "Now I activate Book of Life," he said placing the card on the field. A large green book appeared on the field and started glowing a bright white light. "This book allows me to special summon one Zombie type monster from my Graveyard." Suddenly a purplish aura came from his Duel Disk's Graveyard slot. The ground beneath them began to crack as suddenly a bony hand holding a scythe came from the crack, the same purplish aura surrounding it. Another bony hand appeared and the two hands pushed out a skull wrapped in a dark blue cloak. The aura slowly dissipated from it. "Meet my Spirit Reaper," he said sinisterly. (300/200) "Unfortunately I will be unable to activate my Book of Life's second ability but in special summoning a Zombie Sub-Type I have in turn activated a whole new ability." Suddenly the Bone Tower started glowing a feint bluish light.

"Oh great, what is happening now?"

"My Soul Absorbing Bone Tower has the ability to discard two cards off the top of your deck whenever a Zombie monster is special summoned to the field." One of the streams of soul energy burst out of the tower and hit Kokuro's deck holster causing two cards to fall out of it and go into the Graveyard.

"He is slowly destroying the cards in my deck," Kokuro said.

"Exactly. With no deck to work with, you won't be a threat, not that you were one to begin with." When he saw Kokuro clench his fist a bit he grinned and took a card from his hand. "I believe now is a good time to summon my Pyramid Turtle." Suddenly a large turtle with a pyramid on its back appeared on the field. (1200/1400) "Lastly I will switch my Soul Absorbing Bone Tower into attack mode," he said as the bone tower began to glow again. "My Pyramid Turtle may be destroyed along with your small girl, but that is what I want anyway."

"I doubt you will be able to get past my Sleepy Rangers," Kokuro said confidently.

"Oh really? Well why don't I test your theory, and at the same time put your 'Sleepy Rangers' into a permanent sleep. Pyramid Turtle, destroy White Magician Pikeru." The Pyramid Turtle's pyramid began to glow a feint golden yellow.

"Reverse Trap Card, Wall of Revealing Light!" Kokuro called out. "I pay 4000 Life Points to keep you unable to attack."

"That would have been the case…" Ritsuzen said with a hint of amusement in his voice, "If I didn't have this Mystical Space Typhoon to blow your wall down."

Kokuro gasped as his Life Points dropped forming his wall. (5700) However a large typhoon slammed into the wall causing it to diminish. "Now my plan is ruined."

"It wasn't much of a plan to begin with," Ritsuzen said chuckling as the Pyramid Turtle let the energy gathering at its Pyramid loose. Pikeru let out a blast of its own energy. The two energies collided with the opposing monsters destroying them. "And now my Pyramid Turtles special ability activates. I'm allowed to bring one Zombie monster from my deck with 2000 or less defense directly to the field." He took out his deck and looked through it a before taking a card and placing it on a Monster Zone. "I summon Vampire Lord!" Suddenly a vampire with blue hair wearing a long black cape and a sophisticated suite appeared on the field. (2000/1500) "Since my Vampire Lord was special summoned to the field, Soul Absorbing Bone Tower now takes away another two cards from the top of your deck."

The tower blasted another soul at Kokuro's deck causing another two cards to go to the Graveyard. "Now I might be in trouble," he worriedly said.

"You were in trouble as soon as you accepted my challenge. However I must thank you for allowing me access into a private room in Obelisk Blue."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sonomi asked.

"Vampire Lord, destroy one of his sheep," Ritsuzen said ignoring his question. The Vampire took one of the sheep in its hands and drained the sheep of its blood.

"That is just nasty," Mia said disgusted.

"Spirit Reaper, destroy another sheep." The Spirit Reaper leapt forward and slashed a sheep with its scythe. "Bone Tower, clear the field of his third sheep." The Bone Tower let loose a blast of energy incinerated the last sheep. "You are left with one lone sheep against my army of the dead. I end my turn."

'Alright, now I don't know what to do,' Kokuro thought. He drew his card and looked down at Pot of Greed. 'If he keeps thinning my deck this might not be the best card to play,' He looked down at his Apprentice Magician and his Black Magician. 'Then again, my Apprentice Magician will do that as well. I guess I really don't have much of a choice.' "I activate Pot of Greed allowing me to draw two cards," Kokuro said as he drew his two cards. 'These will do nicely,' he said looking at his two new cards. "I set one monster on guard and one card under the table and end my turn." The cards appeared on the field while Kokuro grinned.

"It's my turn," Ritsuzen said drawing. "This will do, I summon Giant Orc." Suddenly a large Orc appeared on the field with an equally large club in its hand. (2200/0) "Go my Orc, attack his monster." The Orc began to move towards Kokuro's card when suddenly black chains trapped it.

"My Shadow Spell will keep your Orc in place and lower it's attack power by 700," Kokuro said proudly.

Ritsuzen watched as his Orc's power decreased but didn't seem too interested in Kokuro's play. (1500/0) "You disable one of my monsters and find it cause for celebration? I pity you. Vampire Lord, attack the monster." The Vampire Lord opened up its cape causing a bunch of bats to fly out of it and head for the monster. A woman with green hair and yellow robes playing a harp appeared on the field. (800/2000)

"Our monsters points are equal, meaning nothing happens," Kokuro said proudly.

The bats returned to Vampire Lord and it closed its cape. "I switch my other two monsters on guard since your Sheep isn't worth attacking and end my turn," Ritsuzen said, emotion devoid from his voice.

"My move," Kokuro said drawing. "I set one monster on guard and end my turn."

Ritsuzen drew his card and took a moment to look at it. 'Only one Demon in in the Graveyard,' he thought. "Vampire Lord, attack his new monster." The Vampire repeated the move it made with the Spirit of the Harp and attacked the new monster. A magician in purple robes appeared on the field and was destroyed by the bats.

"My Apprentice Magician allows me to special summon a Level 2 or lower Spellcaster from my deck to the field face down on guard." Kokuro announced taking out his deck. "He hasn't made too many attempts to thin my deck anymore, but that doesn't mean he can't do it. So I'll play it safe and just bring out my Old Vindictive.' Kokuro placed his card on the field face down, reshuffled and reinserted his deck into his deck holster.

Ritsuzen shrugged, "I am unworried. I end my turn."

"I'll show you something to worry about," Kokuro said drawing his card. "I reverse my Old Vindictive Magician and use its special ability to destroy your Vampire Lord." The Old Magician appeared on the field and fired its red magic at the Vampire causing it to be destroyed. "Now I offer up my Old Vindictive Magician and my Spirit of the Harp in order to summon Black Magician!" Kokuro's Black Magician appeared on the field with a grin on its face and its arms crossed as Sonomi and Mia let out a cheer. (2500/2100) "Say good bye to your Giant Orc, Black Magic Attack!" The Magician raised its staff and let loose a powerful blast of magic that hit the Orc destroying it.

Ritsuzen looked down at his Duel Disk as his Life Points went down. (7000) "It seems you have forgotten about my Gravekeepers servant," he said as the creature slashed another card off the top of Kokuro's deck.

"I'm getting rid of that thing right now," Kokuro said annoyed. "I activate Double Spell, I discard my Sages Stone since my Black Magician is already on the field, and I use the Mystical Space Typhoon from your graveyard on your Gravekeepers Servant." The gust of wind picked up and the small creature was blown away. "I end my turn." Ritsuzen took the spell from his Spell/Trap Zone and placed it in the graveyard shrugging it off.

"Guy really doesn't care if his cards are destroyed or not huh?" Sonomi asked.

"Sure seems like it," Mia replied.

He drew his card and placed it in his hand. "I would like to inform you that now that you have sent my Vampire Lord to the Graveyard using a monster effect its special ability activates."

"And just what is its special ability?" Kokuro asked.

"Its special ability allows it to return to the field during my standby phase if it was destroyed by a Spell, Trap, or monster effect." A coffin came up the ground slowly. It opened up to reveal the Vampire Lord sleeping. It woke up and stepped out of the coffin. The coffin closed itself and slowly went back underneath the ground. "You know what happens when a Zombie is special summoned," he said evilly. The Bone Tower blasted another two cards off of Kokuro's deck. "Now, I will activate my own Pot of Greed," he said drawing two cards from his deck. "Excellent," he said sinisterly.

"I don't like the sound in his voice," Mia said worriedly.

"Neither do I," Sonomi responded.

"First I activate my second Book of Life," he said as the green book appeared on the field again. "With it I bring forth back my Pyramid Turtle. Guess what happens now." The Bone Tower sent a soul out to take off two cards from Kokuro's deck. "I also use its ability to remove Pikeru from your Graveyard." Kokuro growled taking his Pikeru and placing it in his pocket. "Now, I summon my most powerful Zombie, I remove Vampire Lord from play in order to special summon Vampire Genesis!" He said evilly as his Vampire Lord began to get larger and gain more muscles. It tore out of its suite and now stood in something less sophisticated. All of its teeth grew and it got uglier. (3000/2500) "And since it was special summoned you lose two more cards," he said as the Bone Tower blasted Kokuro's deck once more.

"That thing is stronger than my Black Magician," Kokuro gasped.

"Yes, and now I will enter my battle phase. Pyramid Turtle, please attack Black Magician."

"Why would he do that?" Mia asked.

"To Special Summon another Zombie from his deck," Sonomi said with her fists clenched.

The Pyramid Turtle blasted its energy at the Black Magician. The Magician dodged and then fired it's own energy at the Pyramid Turtle destroying it. (5700) "Now I shall special summon Fear From the Dark from my deck," Ritsuzen said calmly as a dark shadow appeared on the field and formed into an evil looking ghost. (1700/1000) His Bone Tower blasted two more cards off of Kokuro's deck causing Kokro to let out a small growl. "Vampire Genisis, destroy his Black Magician." The Vampire let out a Ghostly Wail and the energy from it destroyed the Black Magician.

'Black Magician, I'm sorry,' Kokuro thought as his Life Points dropped. (5200)

"Now my Fear from the Dark, destroy that last sheep I didn't care enough about to destroy last time." The ghost went towards the sheep and used its long ghostly claws to destroy the last sheep. "You're deck is extremely thin while mine is rather strong. You are running out of time so I shall complete my turn."

Kokuro looked down at his deck, 'I don't know what to d, with so few cards in my deck and no cards in my hand. I hate to admit it, but I can see now why he's the Legend of the North School.'

"Kokuro's in a tight spot," Mia said.

"Come on Kokuro!" Sonomi said standing up. "We're right here with you, don't let this jerk push you around."

"Sonomi's right!" Mia said standing up and cheering as well. "Don't give up, ever!"

Kokuro looked at his friends, "They're right, I can't give up," he said drawing his card and smiled when he saw what he had drawn. He turned to the girls and gave them a thumb up, "Thank you."

"Do you think he drew…" Mia began.

"I _know _he drew it," Sonomi said smiling.

"I end my turn," Kokuro said confidently.

Ritsuzen raised his eyebrow at them as he drew his card. "I don't know what you fools are jabbering about, but if you do the math, you will realize that after I'm done switch all my monsters to attack mode," he was at that moment switching all his monsters, "he will lose the duel. Now, attack the player!" All of his monsters began powering up their attacks. "It's over," he smirked.

Up in the observatory Seto Kaiba was watching the duel. "I have a pretty strong feeling I know how Kokuro is going to survive this round," he said grinning.

The Vampire Genesis was the first to attack with its ghostly wail. Kokuro smiled and slid the one card in his hand to the Graveyard. Kuriboh appeared on the field and took the attack of Vampire Genesis. Ritsuzen let out a small growl, the first time anything had really upset him in the duel. "You are just like Seto Kaiba. You are a lying hypocrite."

"How do you figure that?" Kokuro asked annoyed.

"You yelled at me for sending my monsters to the graveyard when I used Cheerful Coffin to give me an advantage. Now here you are sending your monster to the graveyard to give you a small advantage."

"You are wrong," Kokuro said.

"Explain to me how I am wrong then!"

"You forced your monsters to go to the graveyard with your spell card, where as my weak defenseless little Kuriboh selflessly sent himself to the graveyard to protect his friend."

"You are still the one sending the card to the graveyard."

"You are partially right but you have to remember, Kuriboh's special ability itself gives me the right to send it to the graveyard. Kuriboh himself is selflessly sending himself to the graveyard to help me. Where as your monsters special abilities won't allow you to do that on their own so you force them there with a Spell Card. Kuriboh goes to the graveyard willingly, you force yours there."

"You speak such nonsense, my other monsters attack you now!" The Spirit Reaper slashed Kokuro along with the Fear from the Dark while the Bone Tower hit him with soul energy. "I end my turn."

Kokuro dusted himself off and drew his card. (2800) He looked down at it and smiled, "There _is _something good about most of my deck to the graveyard. You got the cards I needed in the right place. I activate Premature Burial!" The card appeared on the field and Kokuro paid the Life Points needed in order to activate it. (2000) "I resurrect my Black Magician of Chaos!" he called out as the magician that had finished so many of his duels for him appeared on the field. (2800/2300) "My Magician allows me to take back a spell card from my graveyard and I choose Pot of Greed!"

"So you summoned a monster that is weaker than mine _and _you are going to weaken your deck size even more?"

"Wrong, I'm going to use both these cards to win the duel."

"Impossible, how?"

"Like I said, you sending most of my deck to the graveyard got the cards I needed in the right place. I now have 16 cards in my deck, so the chances of me drawing the two cards I need are pretty much a guarantee. All I need is a little faith in my self and in my deck. And I _know _I will draw the two cards I need," he said placing the Pot of Greed in the Spell/Trap Zone. He put his hands on the deck and closed his eyes.

'You can do it,' Mia thought.

'Show this jerk whose boss,' Sonomi thought.

Up in the observatory Kaiba turned to Jukata-Sensei, "Prepare a room for Ritsuzen in Osiris Red."

"But, we don't even know if Kokuro will get the cards he needs," Jukata responded.

"I never would have admitted it in front of him…?" Kaiba said grinning, "but Yugi Mouto was right." The statement left Jukata-Sensei speechless.

Kokuro drew his cards and looked at them. "I activate Mage Power!" he said as the card appeared on the field. "This will give my Black Magician of Chaos an extra 500 attack and defense points for every Spell and Trap on my side of the field, and I count 3!" (4300/3800)

"You don't have enough to win," Ritsuzen glaring at Kokuro.

"Oh? What if I attack all your monsters at once with Diffusion-Wave Motion," Kokuro said sliding the card into the Duel Disk. The Black Magician of Chaos began to gather a massive amount of energy in its staff and prepared for its attack. "You may be a Legend at the North School," Kokuro said. "But when you insult other people just because you think you are better than them, then it shows that you are the weakest person in this room. Black Magician of Chaos, destroy his monsters and win me this duel!"

The Magician let out the energy from its staff. The energy sliced through the Vampire destroying it, then through the Fear from the Dark, and then through the Spirit Reaper. Due to the effects of Spirit Reaper it wasn't destroyed and due to Soul Absorbing Bone Towers effect it couldn't be attacked; but the overall damage from Vampire Genisis, Fear from the Dark, and Spirit Reaper, was more than enough to wipe out all of Ritsuzen's Life Points. (0)

The Holograms slowly faded and Mia and Sonomi ran up to Kokuro and hugged him tightly. "You did it!" Sonomi yelled excitedly. "You showed that jerk not to mess with us!"

"You defended the honor of the school and your friends," Mia yelled just as excitedly.

Kaiba and Jukata-Sensei watched as Ritsuzen fell to his knees as the feeling of defeat sunk in for the very first time. "You were right," Jukata-Sensei said amazed.

"I knew he would win," Kaiba said grinning at Kokuro and the girls. "Why do you think I made that bet with Ritsuzen in the first place?" Kaiba grinned a little mischievously at Jukata-Sensei. "Put him under the order of Kyusai-Sensei."

"Right away Master Kaiba," Jukata-Sensei said bowing before he left.

Kaiba continued to watch the three as they had their mini-celebration, "Those three may not realize it yet, but they are going to have many adventures here together." He looked back down at Ritsuzen, "time to take care of some business." With that he left the room.

Ritsuzen was staring at his Duel Disk, completely lost in his own thoughts. 'How could I have lost? My strategy was perfect. It has never failed me.'

Kokuro walked over to him with the other two right behind him. "I hope you realize now that dueling isn't all about power and to not insult others when you don't know anything about them."

Ritsuzen looked up at him and glared at him. He stood up and put his deck back together. Once he was done he turned to Kokuro, "Just because I lost doesn't mean you are superior to me. Your win was pure luck. Next time we duel not even luck will be able to save you." They all heard a sound at the door that Ritsuzen had come in from and saw Seto Kaiba standing there. He walked over to them and stood next to Ritsuzen.

"Congratulations Kokuro, you can be sure that your Rank has gone up. I'm tempted to even put you at Legendary."

"I think you should," Sonomi said standing next to Kokuro. "He completely deserves it Master Kaiba."

"Sonomi, I thought you were the one who wanted to be the Legend," Kokuro said a little surprised.

"Master Kaiba is a Legend, but so is Yugi Mouto and Joey Wheeler, so why can't you be one too? I'm sure there is room for two Legends in the Academy."

"I agree," Kaiba said to them.

"What about my rank?" Ritsuzen said raising his voice a little.

"Speaking of your rank," Kaiba said turning to him. "Why don't we talk about that while I show you to your new dormitory?"

"You will pay for this," Ritsuzen said to Kokuro as he picked up his briefcase and walked out of the arena with Kaiba.

They watched them leave and then Kokuro turned to Sonomi, "Why did you say that?"

"Because you did the exact same thing for me," she said simply.

"Yeah but…"

"But nothing, you definitely deserve that rank if you've beaten two Legends and a teacher who was never previously beaten. And I told Master Kaiba what I thought, just like you did."

"Thank you," was all Kokuro could say. He then noticed a sound coming from behind them. "Do you hear that?" he asked.

"It sounds like clapping," Mia said.

They turned to look behind them and Kokuro recognized the person clapping as Yaku. "Yaku, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Well, I _am_ an Obelisk Blue student, and I don't mean that to sound cocky or anything, but you are in our arena."

"Oh yeah, we are in the Obelisk Blue Arena aren't we?" Mia said remembering where they were.

"That's right," Yaku said. "Well, I must say Kokuro I'm impressed. The first time I met you, you were a clumsy first year who had left his deck in his dorm room. Here you are now taking on Legends and beating them like there's no tomorrow."

"Wait, how did you know I was dueling in here?"

"Why else would you have a still active Duel Disk on your arm?" Yaku said pointing to Kokuro's disk, which was indeed still on.

"Oops, I forgot to clean up my cards," he said clearing his cards out of his disk.

Yaku just laughed, "You still have that first year forgetfulness though. In any case I came in about halfway and watched the duel. I had originally come in to duel a friend of mine but when he saw that Ra Yellow occupied it he decided to skip out. But I stayed to watch and I must say I'm quite impressed."

"Well thank you," Kokuro said. "I wanted to thank you since I don't think I ever did for helping me out my first day here."

"No problem. I was glad I could help. Well I guess you are pretty worn out today aren't you?"

"Yeah, I'm beat."

"That's too bad," Yaku said smiling slyly a little. "Would you mind meeting me here after classes tomorrow?"

"No, I don't mind, but how come?"

"If you really want to thank me for helping you, I can't think of a better way to do it than with a friendly duel."

"Really? You want to duel me?"

"Yup! I've wanted to duel you ever since I heard you beat Professor Hikari."

"It's not because I somehow destroyed your life in some way only you know and now you are after me for revenge?"

"Um…no," he said, his voice giving off a worried 'is this kid crazy?' sound.

"Is it because you wish to pound me into the dirt because you think you are better than me?"

"No again?"

"Lastly it's not because you are being set up by someone else who I ruined their life somehow and now they are after me but they are using you to do their dirty work for them?"

"No, no, and no." he said. "I just want to duel you because I think it will be fun."

Kokuro let out a sigh of relief, "Well, if that's all you want then I accept," Kokuro said shaking his hand.

"You got any problems I should know about?" He asked a little worriedly.

"Lets just say so far I've only been in duels for really weird reasons."

"What about our duel?" Mia asked.

"Two words," Sonomi said. "Training Video."

"I know that, but I'm talking about the re-match duel."

"Needing to get the weight off my shoulders of you letting me win," Kokuro responded.

"Right," Mia said smiling sheepishly.

"You're honest it's just for fun?"

Yaku laughed, "I'm positive."

"Alright, then I look forward to it," he said shaking hands again. Kokuro let out a stretch, "I'm tired, I need sleep," he said.

"Same here," the other two replied.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," Kokuro said as they left waving.

"Don't be late," Yaku called back waving.

"Well, looks like you are going to be facing your first ever Obelisk Blue Student," Mia said.

"What do you call Ritsuzen then?" Kokuro asked.

"A jerk," Sonomi said.

With that they all began laughing, "Well, I guess I'll be facing my first, non-legend Obelisk Blue student anyway."

"There ya go," Mia said.

'Finally, a duel just for fun,' Kokuro thought. "I'm going to have fun tomorrow," he said smiling.


	11. Mechanical Magic

A/N: Sorry for the late update. My mom took my brother and me to her friends house for a second thanksgiving and I have been gone all day hanging out over there. Sorry again.

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

* * *

It was before dawn, the dark night sky was giving away to light as the sun was preparing to rise. The sky was gradually getting lighter, and the darkness was lifting. Kokuro stood at the cliff he had been to when he talked to Sonomi. He was staring out across the sky, the wind blowing his uniform jacket and his hair with its gentle breeze. Staring out at the sky he watched the sun as it began to peak over the horizon. The sunrise put the sky a blaze with a dark red that seemed to actually burn as it rose. Unaware to him, he was not the only one watching the sunrise this morning.

Sonomi was at the Ra Yellow Dormitory watching the sunrise in the sky. She stood in awe at the awesome-ness of the dark red sky. It reminded her of her Fire Type monsters, and the power they represented.

In the Osiris Red dormitory Ritsuzen glared at the sunrise. His eyes shifted to the one other person in the room, his tutor. He hated the sunrise, it reminded him of the Rank he was in, and the horrible defeat Kokuro had managed to hand to him. 'The only good thing about this sunrise,' he thought. 'Is that it represents my life at the moment. Although I'm trapped in this third-rate dormitory for now, like this sunrise, my life will soon turn back to Obelisk Blue, it will just take some time."

Kokuro stood out on the cliff, as the sun got higher in the sky and the red slowly turned back to blue. He smiled, and pulled out his deck. He shuffled his deck and slid it into the Duel Disk attached to his arm. He closed his eyes and pulled two cards from his disk. When he opened his eyes he smiled. By looking at the order they were in, he could tell that the first card he drew was his Black Magician. The second, his Kuriboh.

"These two cards mean a lot to me," he said to himself. "My Black Magician is of course my favorite. My second favorite is Black Magician Girl. However, my Kuriboh is high on my list. It does, after all, represent the friendship I have with Sonomi and Mia. It has played a big role in my time here, and I'm sure that Kuriboh will continue to play a role a large role as the year continues. He may not be the highest card on my list, but he definitely ranks."

Kokuro placed his cards back in his deck and shuffled them. He put it back in his deck box and picked up his backpack. He began walking towards the academy. He went inside to grab breakfast and then slowly made his way to Professor Hikari's classroom. It was still early to be at class so he figured he should knock first. He took a deep breath and then knocked on the door. "You may enter," came Professor Hikari's voice. Kokuro walked through the door and Professor Hikari narrowed his eyes at him. "Oh it's you. What do you want? I'm a very busy man."

"I know Professor Hikari, and that's why I came in early hoping you could help me," Kokuro responded. Professor Hikari's eyebrow rose slightly, Kokuro took that as a hint to continue. "Well, I was having some trouble with the homework. It could just be that I was exhausted from my duel with Ritsuzen and just wasn't thinking clearly but I was hoping you could help me with it?" He ended his question nervously, not knowing if Professor Hikari would play the role of the teacher and help him, or play the duelist who was still upset about his loss.

Professor Hikari looked Kokuro up and down before asking, "How did your duel with the Legendary Ritsuzen go?"

Kokuro gulped once, "Well, I won," came the nervous reply

Professor Hikari nodded slightly, "yes very good," he said sounding oddly professional. "I suppose I could take some of my time to help you with your work," he responded. "Come over here." Kokuro let out a sigh of relief and took a spare chair and sat next to his desk. "Before you begin let me make you very clear that I am not turning soft."

"Pardon?" Kokuro asked.

"Don't think I am going to instantly become your friend just because you had the gall to come ask for help," he said coldly. "I am doing it because it is my job. I am also doing it because I believe that anyone who faces someone as strong as Ritsuzen and wins, deserves a small break."

"Yes sir," Kokuro said a little intimidated. He didn't care if he could beat Professor Hikari or not, he was still kind of scary.

"Good, now what are you having problems with?"

Kokuro and Professor Hikari finished just before class started. "Thanks again Professor Hikari," Kokuro said taking his seat. "I'm sorry I kept you."

"You show passion for your work, you aren't as lazy as some of the other students. It's the only reason I continued to help."

"Yes sir," Kokuro said. Sonomi came in at that point and soon the rest of the students started filling in. Class started and seemed to pass by rather quickly.

Sonomi and Kokuro were out in halls walking to their next class, "And you're saying that he actually helped you the whole way through?" she asked Kokuro referring to the help Professor Hikari had given.

"Yeah, I was surprised myself," Kokuro said. "I think however that it was a good experience for both of us though. I think it really cooled off some of the tension, although he continues to deny it."

"Maybe he just needs a bit more time to get to know you like I did," she said smiling. Suddenly they heard a strange noise. They looked around but all they could see was random students passing by them. "That was weird," Sonomi said. "Maybe I'm just hearing things."

"Not unless we are both hearing them," Kokuro said. He stopped an Osiris Red Student that was passing by, "Hey, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm just wondering, did you hear a strange sound just now?"

The student looked at him strangely, as if he was nuts, "No, I didn't hear a thing."

"Ok thanks," Kokuro said letting the kid go by. "Well, I guess we are both just hearing things," he said.

"I guess," she responded.

The rest of the day went by and they didn't hear anymore-strange noises. Kokuro had gotten through his dreaded, 'Drawing Exorcises,' and managed to find that the rest of the day had gone by without any trouble. It was time for his duel with Yaku. Sonomi and Mia met him on the way to the duel arena and they headed there together. They entered the Obelisk Blue Arena to find Yaku already standing there waiting for them. "Well, I see you are finally here," Yaku said.

"Yup," Kokuro said taking his place on his side. Sonomi and Mia went over to the bleachers to watch the duel. "I guess its time to duel," he said reaching for his deck.

Yaku grinned menacingly, "Yes," he said in a sinister voice. "Now, it's time to duel, and for you to pay for what you did."

"Wait, I thought you said this was a friendly duel," Kokuro said getting upset.

"How else was I supposed to lure you into this duel you fool?" he sneered. "Now I can get my revenge."

"What did I do to _you_?" he asked hoping to find the reason for this sudden change.

"On my first day, you made me late to class. The teacher got upset and reprimanded me. On top of that, Hitoku, the man who got us to your class in time, he got in trouble for helping us out. Hitoku is a good friend and because of you, two people got reprimanded."

"Now just hold on!" Kokuro shouted. "Two things, the first is that I didn't end up getting there in time and Professor Hikari ended up giving me a detention anyway. The second is that you told me that you would be going to Study, so you didn't have to be worried about being late!"

Yaku started chuckling sinisterly. The chuckle got bigger into a full maniacal laugh, which soon became a rage of hysteria. He pointed his finger at Kokuro and stopped laughing long enough to speak, "I GOT YOU!" he shouted and then began laughing again.

"…huh?" was all Kokuro could manage to muster.

Yaku calmed down and was able to speak, "Darn, I was hoping you wouldn't remember that I told you I had Study first."

"Wait, what?" Kokuro said dumbfounded.

"Well, yesterday you asked me all those weird questions about revenge and stuff so I figured it would be fun to mess with you a bit. I'm not really angry with you or anything. Although you have to admit that I had you fooled."

Kokuro couldn't say anything. He was just too dumbstruck. It was Sonomi who decided to speak, "I thought you were Obelisk Blue. How come you're going around playing tricks on people? That's something only Osiris Red and few Ra Yellow students do."

"Oh please," Yaku said. "Not all Obelisk Blue students are snobs. Some of us _do _like to have fun.

Kokuro just sort of stood there for a few seconds. He finally took out his deck and started shuffling it. "Oh come on!" Yaku said chuckling a little. "Don't tell me you are going to give me the cold shoulder. It was just a joke, I'm not really angry at anyone."

Kokuro inserted his deck and watched his Duel Disk fold out. "Yaku," he began.

"Yes Kokuro?" he replied taking out his own deck.

"Don't ever do that again."

Yaku chuckled, "Deal." He inserted his deck and watched as his Duel Disk folded out. "So, ready for our completely friendly, non-revengeful duel?"

Kokuro finally chuckled a bit and smiled, "Yeah."

"Good, then you won't mind if I go first," Yaku said drawing his 6 cards. 'An interesting opening hand,' Yaku thought to himself. "Hope you are ready for this," Yaku said taking a card from his hand. "I summon X Head Cannon." A blue machine monster appeared on the field, it had arms, and long, thin cannons on its shoulders. The bottom half of it was a large spiked sphere. (1800/1500) "I'll set one card under the table and that will end my turn." The card appeared behind the X Head Cannon.

Kokuro drew his card and looked over his hand. "That's a strong machine you have there," he said smiling. He took a card from his hand, "I once read about a different system of dueling back when Yugi Mouto was just getting famous. When he entered the Duelist Kingdom tournament. Back then Machines like your X Head Cannon had a resistance to magic based attacks. Its unfortunate for you that that doesn't apply here." He placed a card down onto the reader. "I summon Skilled Black Magician," he said as his magician in long black robes appeared on the field with its long silver staff. "Skilled Magician, show him that magic can affect machines and dismantle his X Head Cannon!" The Magician sprang forward and started to form energy in its staff.

"Hate to break it to you Kokuro," Yaku began. "But I'm afraid that magic still isn't effective against machines."

"What! But we aren't playing with those stupid rules," Kokuro said stunned.

"Maybe not, but in this case," he started as his face down card began to flip up, "the rule still applies. Reverse Rare Metalmorph." A silvery substance covered the X Head Cannon causing its metal to get shinier. The blast of magic came from the Skilled Black Magician's staff and seemed to slide off the large machine. The monster powered up its cannon and fired it at the magician destroying it.

"Wait, what just happened?" Kokuro asked.

"My Rare Metalmorph grants any machine monster it is attached too an extra 500 attack points. It also makes it immune to one Spell Card," he explained as X Head Cannon's attack power rose. (2300/1500)

Kokuro let out a small growl as his Life Points lowered. (7600) "I can't believe I let my guard down like that," he said. "Well not again, I set one card under the table and activate Spell Absorption and end my turn." The Spell Absorption appeared on the field and a face down card appeared next to it.

"It's my turn," Yaku said drawing. He looked down at what he drew and smiled. "I'll set one card under the table and then I'll summon Y Dragon Head!" A card appeared on the field and then a red dragon made of metal appeared on the field. (1500/1600) "And now you are completely open for a direct attack."

"Oh no," Mia exclaimed. "He'll lose half his Life Points in this one attack!"

"X Head Cannon, attack the player!" The machine charged up its cannons and let out a shot of energy.

"Kokuro!" the two girls cried out.

"Reverse Sleepy Sheep!" Kokuro called out as suddenly 4 multi-colored sheep appeared on the field. The attack hit one of the sheep destroying it. "Too bad," Kokuro said. "Now for a bonus, I gain 500 Life Points from Spell Absorption for activating a Spell Card." (8100)

"Nice move, unfortunately it is only a temporary defense. Y Dragon Head, attack another of his sheep!" The dragon opened it up its mechanical mouth and shot out a blast of power from its mouth. It hit one of the sheep destroying it. That will end my turn."

Kokuro drew his card, looked down at it, and then placed it in his hand. "I set one monster on guard and end my turn," Kokuro said as his card appeared on the field.

Yaku drew his card and placed it in his hand. 'If I attack his monster, I'll probably miss my chance at taking out a strong monster,' he thought to himself. "X Head Cannon and Y Dragon Head, attack his two sheep!" X Head Cannon powered up its cannon and blasted one of the sheep while Y Dragon Head let out electricity from its jaws. Both sheep were destroyed. "That ends my turn."

Kokuro looked at Yaku suspiciously. 'Why didn't he attack my monster? Doesn't he realize that if he lets me keep it on the field for too long I can sacrifice it? Well, I guess he'll learn the hard way.' "Not attacking my monster was a big mistake Yaku," he said as he drew his card. "Now I offer my face down Apprentice Magician in order to summon Chaos Command Magician!" Apprentice Magician disappeared and a magician in green robes with a long green staff with a ruby at the top appeared on the field. (2400/1900) "My Magician is 100 points stronger than your X Head Cannon. Go Chaos Command Magician, destroy Yaku's X Head Cannon!" The Magician powered up its staff and went towards the machine.

"Nice try Kokuro," Yaku said. "But I was hoping you would do something like that. Reverse Trap, Formation Union." Yaku's trap card flipped up and started to glow. "Tell me, do you know why one of my monsters is named _X _Head Cannon and the other is _Y _Dragon Head?"

"Because Pegasus really liked the Alphabet?" Kokuro guessed.

"Close guess, but wrong. It's because X Head Cannon and Y Dragon Head can join together to make each other stronger. My Formation Union Trap Card allows me to equip one Union Monster with a monster that the Union Monster can be equipped too. So I will equip my Y Dragon Head to my X Head Cannon!" The X Head Cannon connected to Y Dragon Head's back causing X Head Cannon to get stronger. (2700/1900) "Looks like my monster is stronger now," Yaku said smiling.

"Maybe, but since there was a change in the monsters on the field a replay occurs allowing me to call off my attack," Kokuro said as his Chaos Command Magician stopped its attack. "I guess I'll end my turn from here," Kokuro said.

Yaku drew his card and smiled, 'This is perfect,' he thought. "Ok, first off I'm going to change my monsters back into their original forms," Yaku said as his two monsters separated into two individual monsters. X Head Cannons attack power lowered. (2300/1500) "Now I will activate this a card known as Frontline Base." He played the card on the field and it appeared.

"Because you played a Spell Card, I just gained 500 Life Points," Kokuro said as his Life Points got stronger. (8600)

"Well, I'm afraid you are going to lose a lot more," he said. "This special card allows me to special summon any union monster with 4 stars or lower from my hand. So now I will special summon another Y Dragon Head." Another mechanical red dragon appeared on the field. (1500/1600) "However, he is only going to be here for a short time. I now sacrifice him in order to summon a much stronger machine." The Y Dragon Head disappeared and a large metal robot appeared on the field. "Meet Machine King!" (2200/2000) "My Machine King comes with a great ability, he gains 100 attack points for every machine on the field including himself. I count three, which means that my Machine King gains 300 attack points.

Everyone watched as Machine Kings eye sensors glowed red as he powered up. (2500/2000) "Kokuro's in big trouble now," Mia gasped.

"Machine King, take out his magician!" The Machine King launched its arm at the Chaos Command Magician destroying it. The arm came back to Machine King and connected again. "X Head Cannon and Y Dragon Head, attack the player!" The two machines powered up and let out a charge of electricity blasting Kokuro to the ground. (4700) "With that I'll end my turn," he said.

Kokuro stood up and took the top card from his deck. 'Wall of Revealing Light,' he thought. 'I can use this, but I have to be careful, I won't have a whole lot of Life Points left afterwards.' "I set one card under the table and one monster on guard and that will end my turn."

Yaku drew his card and smiled, "I activate Pot of Greed, this will allow me to draw two cards from my deck," he said as he drew two cards. "Prepare for a huge set back. I activate Soul Exchange! With this I can sacrifice one of your monsters instead of using one of my own at the cost of my battle phase this turn. So now I sacrifice your face down monster in order to summon this!" Kokuro's Spirit of the Harp disappeared and a large robot with its brain showing and a long black cape appeared on the field. It had red eye sensors and was exceptionally tall. "Lets welcome Android Psycho Shocker!" (2400/1500) "This powerful robot has the power to negate trap cards, unfortunately it will also effect mine as well but that's the price I pay," he said. The robot shot out eye lasers, which petrified Kokuro's down card and caused X Head Cannon to become less shiny. (1800/1500) "Also with my Psycho Shocker on the field my Machine King gains an extra 100 attack points. (2600/2000) Good thing I can't attack or else you would be finished. So I end my turn."

Kokuro assessed the situation and looked it over, 'Lets see, I have a way to stop his Android Psycho Shocker,' he thought to himself looking at his Double Spell and his Tribute Doll. 'However I need the right card to make this work.' He drew his card and looked down at it. "Pot of greed will give me two more cards and 500 extra Life Points," he said as he drew his first card. (5200) He picked up his card and discovered it was his Black Magician Girl. 'Excellent, this is just the card I needed, now to draw my second card.' He placed his hand on his deck when suddenly he heard a strange noise. He looked around and noticed that Mia and Sonomi had heard it too.

"What's that sound?" Mia asked.

"It's the same sound that Kokuro and I heard earlier today," Sonomi gasped.

"What are you guys talking about?" Yaku asked. "I didn't hear anything."

'That's strange,' Kokuro thought. 'Sonomi, Mia and I can all hear it, but Yaku can't.' Kokuro drew his card and looked at it. His eyes widened when he saw it. It was Kuriboh. 'Wait a second, that sound almost sounds like Kuriboh.'

"Are you going to make your move?" Yaku asked.

Kokuro looked up and nodded, "Now I activate Double Spell," Kokuro called out. "I'll discard Tribute Doll in order to activate Soul Exchange from your graveyard. Now I offer up your Android Psycho Shocker in order to summon my Black Magician Girl!" The robot disappeared and the Black Magician Girl came to the field twirling her wand and smiling happily. "Unfortunately I can't attack now but I do gain 500 Life Points from Spell Absorption, so I'll end my turn." (5700)

Yaku watched as his Machine Kings attack power lowered. (2500/2000) 'I don't understand, his Black Magician Girl still isn't strong enough to take out Machine King, he must have something else planned.' Yaku looked at Kokuro's field and smiled, 'His face down card.' He drew his card and looked at it. It was another X Head Cannon. "I summon X Head Cannon," he said as he summoned his monster. The large machine monster appeared on the field and aimed its cannons at Kokuro. (1800/1500) "And don't forget, now that Android Psycho Shocker is no longer on the field, my first X Head Cannon gets back the benefit of Rare Metalmorph." The X Head Cannon's metal got shinier again and its attack points increased. (2300/1500)

"I didn't think of that," Kokuro said worriedly.

"Don't forget that my Machine King also gains 100 attack since a new machine is on the field to serve him," he said as his monsters attack points increased. (2600/2000) However, your face down card worries me, so I'll instead use my X Head Cannon with Rare Metalmorph to attack your Black Magician Girl." The X Head Cannon shot out a blast from its cannon aimed right for the Black Magician Girl.

"Reverse Trap," Kokuro called out as his Trap flipped up. "Wall of Light. So now I'll pay 3000 Life Points to protect my Magician Girl." (2700) Kokuro watched his Life Points fall and the barrier of light come up. X Head Cannon's attack was stopped by the wall and the Black Magician Girl gave out a sigh of relief.

"Good move, you wouldn't have been able to stop that if Android Psycho Shocker was still on the field. I'll end my turn from here."

Kokuro drew his card and smiled. "It's time for you to meet my favorite Magician, I play Sages Stone, when Black Magician Girl is in play I can special summon Black Magician from my hand or deck, and my Spell Absorption also gives me more Life Points." (3200) The Black Magician Girl held up the stone, it started glowing and magic came from all around it. The Black Magician appeared on the field and the stone went away. "Ready for this?" he asked. "Black Magician Girl, wipe out X Head Cannon!" The Black Magician Girl twirled her staff and let loose a blast of magic that destroyed the newly summoned X Head Cannon. "Now Black Magician, destroy Y Dragon Head!" The Black Magician leapt forward and blasted the mechanical dragon away with its powerful magic. "I end my turn."

Yaku looked nervous as his Life Points dropped and his Machine King lost attack strength. (6800) (2400/2000) 'It's going to be harder to summon my strongest monster,' he thought worriedly. He drew his card and smiled, 'but this might just give me the chance I need.' He smiled, "I play the Swords of Sealing Light!" 6 magical swords rained down on the field covering Kokuro's magicians. "That ends my turn."

Kokuro drew his card, 'nuts, I can't attack or do anything else. Good thing I gained some extra Life Points from his card.' (3700) "I pass my turn."

"This is bad," Mia said.

"I'll say it is," Sonomi said. "Kokuro only has 3700 Life Points while Yaku has pretty much all of his. I don't think Kokuro knows the full effects of Yaku's XYZ Monsters. If he manages to summon his strongest XYZ monster, Kokuro won't have any more defenses."

"My turn," Yaku said drawing. "Perfect, I summon Z Metal Caterpillar," he said as suddenly a yellow machine type monster appeared on the field. It looked like a tank more than a caterpillar. (1500/1300) Machine King's attack power rose again at that point. (2500/2000) "This will end my turn."

'Z Metal Caterpillar? I have a feeling I'm not going to like it if he gets another Y Dragon Head.' Kokuro drew and saw his Dust Tornado. 'Dang, if I had just drawn this a turn sooner, or if it was my Mystical Space Typhoon. Well, nothing I can do about it now.' "I set one card under the table and end my turn."

"My turn," Yaku said drawing his card.

"To your draw phase I reverse my Dust Tornado, now I use it to destroy the Swords of Light." A large tornado picked up on Kokuro's side of the field; it blew away the swords allowing the Black Magician and Black Magician Girl to be set free. Black Magician Girl gave a twirl while the Black Magician simply gave a small stretch.

"You're one turn too late Kokuro," Yaku said revealing the card he just drew to be Y Dragon Head. "Now I summon my Y Dragon Head," he said as the mechanical dragon appeared on the field. "Now, I will remove my machines together to fuse them together into my XYZ Dragon Cannon!" The three monsters all started to surge with electricity. The X Head Cannon got on top of the Y Dragon head like it did earlier. The Y Dragon Head then folded up its feet while slots opened up on the Z Metal Caterpillar. The Y Dragon Head connected to the Z Metal Caterpillar and they finished joining together. (2800/2600)

"That thing is strong," Kokuro said. "Good thing it can't attack."

"Can't it?" Yaku asked smiling. "Behold, the special ability of my XYZ Dragon Cannon. I discard my Fusilier the Dual Mode Beast from my hand to allow my Dragon Cannon to blast away your wall!" The Cannon let loose a powerful blast of energy that destroyed the wall binding the XYZ Dragon Cannon and the Machine King which was now a little weaker. (2400/2000) "Go XYZ Dragon Cannon, destroy Black Magician!" The Cannons, Y Dragon Head's jaws, and hidden cannons that had appeared on the Z Metal Caterpillar all charged up and then blasted away destroying the Black Magician.

"Because you attacked my Black Magician first my Black Magician girl gains 300 extra attack points for my Black Magician being in the Graveyard," Kokuro announced as Black Magician Girl got stronger. (2300/1700)

"Machine King still overpowers it, attack Black Magician Girl!" The large robot shot its arms out knocking into Black Magician Girl and destroying her. The arms came back to Machine King and re-attached themselves to it. "That ends my turn," he said.

Kokuro slowly drew his card as he watched his Life Points fall. (3300) He looked down at the card in his hand, 'Black Magician of Chaos,' he thought. 'I can't see you winning this duel for me.' "I end my turn," Kokuro said.

Yaku drew and looked down at his card. He smiled having a feeling he knew what would be coming next turn. "It's too bad," he said. "I really would have loved to finish you the way I wanted, unfortunately that won't be happening. XYZ Dragon Cannon attack the player!" The cannons all charged up and then let loose their energy. Kokuro took Kuriboh from his hand and placed it in the Graveyard slot. Kuriboh appeared and let off its cry as it got hit.

Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia all noticed that the sound Kuriboh made sounded like the noise they heard earlier. "Amazing," Kokuro said. He turned to his friends and gave a thumb up before turning back to Yaku, "Kuriboh has protected me this turn," he said.

"Fine, Machine King, wipe out a good portion of his remaining Life Points!" The Machine King's arms shot out and punched Kokuro in the stomach causing him to fall backwards. The arms returned to Machine King and Kokuro's Life Points went down. 900 "I suppose I will be able to win the way I really want too," Yaku said. "I place one card under the table and end my turn."

Kokuro looked at the card down next to Yaku and sighed, 'That has to be a trap card, or else he would have played it sooner.' Kokuro drew to see his Magic Cylinder. 'This isn't going to help me. His Life Points are way to strong. Well, I might as well go down fighting.' "I set one card under the table and end my turn," Kokuro said.

Yaku drew his card and smiled when he saw it. "Kokuro, remember when I said I failed horribly when I took on Professor Hikari?"

"Yes, I remember," Kokuro said.

"Well, that wasn't entirely true. You see, I could have still won if his Swords of Sealing Light didn't trap me. The funniest thing is, my field and hand are exactly what they were when I faced him. He had too many Life Points and his Sanga the Thunder out with a Maha Vailo with two equip cards. I could have discarded my last card to get rid of the swords, but I still wouldn't have been able to take out the Maha Vailo, I needed the card in my hand for my next turn, when the swords would be gone. Unfortunately he drew one final equipment card for Maha Vailo and was able to beat me. I could have one if I had that one other turn."

"I see," Kokuro said. "I'm sorry to hear that, but what does that have to do with the duel we are in now?"

"Because I'm going to finally play the play that would have one me that duel. I activate Return from the Different Dimension," he said as his trap flipped up. "First I have to pay half my Life Points and then I get to special summon every monster that has been removed from play."

"No way!" Kokuro said. "Didn't you have to remove your XYZ monsters in order to summon the Dragon Cannon?"

"That's right," Yaku said as his Life Points dropped. (3400) A swirling vortex appeared on the field and Y Dragon Head, (1500/1600) X Head Cannon, (1800/1500) and Z Metal Caterpillar, (1500/1300) all appeared on the field. Machine King's eye sensors glowed red as he absorbed the electricity of all the Machines in play. (2700/2000)

"I'm not sure," Kokuro said, "But I thought you said that Professor Hikari had two equipment spells active, and if that was true wouldn't the Maha Vailo still be stronger than all of your monsters?"

"That's where my last card comes into play," he said holding the card in his hand. "I needed this to make sure I had enough power to finish off Professor Hikari and to get past his monster. So now I activate Limiter Removal!" Suddenly all of Yaku's monsters started to sizzle with electricity. Y Dragon Head: (3000/1600), X Head Cannon, (3600/1500), Z Metal Caterpillar (3000/1300), XYZ Dragon Cannon, 5600/2600, Machine King: (5400/2000) "My Limiter Removal doubles the power of all my Machine Monsters, the downside is that they all get destroyed at the end of the turn. It's worth it though, the combined total powers of my monsters is 20600! Now, it's time. Sorry to do this to you Kokuro, but I want my favorite card to finish you off. It was an excellent duel, and I was hoping we could still be friends after this is over.

"I'd love to be friends," Kokuro said. 'But I can still win,' he thought.

"XYZ Dragon Cannon! Attack Kokuro directly!" The machine charged up its cannons and fired them right at Kokuro.

"This is it," Kokuro said as his trap flipped up, "Reverse Magic Cylinder."

"Oh no way!" Yaku shouted in disbelief.

"Sorry Yaku," Kokuro said truly sorry. The cylinders appeared and turned the attack back on Yaku. The attack hit him and it sent him to the ground. () The images holograms disappeared and Kokuro ran over to help Yaku up. "Sorry bout that man, I feel really bad now."

"Kokuro don't," he said standing up. "I got carried away. Had I just attacked regularly I would have won. You only had 900 Life Points anyway. I let the duel with Professor Hikari get to my head."

"That's ok," he said. "I feel kind of guilty about winning though. It feels as though you should have won."

"Have you ever been in a situation where you could win two ways, and you went the extreme way that wasn't necessary and it came back to bite you in the butt?"

"Definitely, I was in this tournament, about to win it finally, and I had the choice of just attacking with my Black Magician Girl, but I had pulled Sages Stone and decided to bring out Black Magician. Well the opponent turned over a Torrential Tribute Trap Card and I lost both magicians. On his next turn he played Mataza the Zapper, and Mage Powered it for the game. Had I just not summoned the Magician I would have won."

"See, that's exactly what happened to me, I could have just attacked, and instead I decided to overdo it, and I paid a price for it. I should have taken your face down into consideration, but I saw you play it looking kind of hopeless so I figured it wasn't anything to worry about. Poor judgement on my part," he said. "Just like it was poor judgment on yours. I'm sure you learned to take that into more careful consideration as did I."

"The thing was, I originally had enough Life Points where if it was a Magic Cylinder, it wouldn't have really hurt too much. And I knew the guy didn't have his Gravity Binds left and he didn't own Mirror Force so I just simply underestimated him. It was once he Torrential Tributed and used Mataza's effect to win that got me.

"Well, you made poor judgement, just like I did, and next time I'll know now to underestimate you," he put his hand out and Kokuro shook it.

"Thanks, I feel better now," he said.

"Well, that was fun," he said. "I'm glad I could finally give you a duel without any hitches."

"Yeah thanks, it felt great," Kokuro said laughing.

"Hey, if you ever want to hang out, I'm usually at the mechanics building with Hitoku."

"Really? That would be awesome thank you," he said.

"Well, I have to get going, see you soon?"

"Yeah, I'll be sure to stop by," Kokuro said shaking his hand again.

"See you all later," he said waving.

Mia and Sonomi waved as well and walked up to Kokuro. "You got real lucky," Mia said.

"Yeah, hopefully next time we duel I won't have to rely on that much luck. I'll admit, the students here are tougher than the people in my hometown. I got lucky a few times but usually I won because of skill, not luck. Oh well, it's still fun."

"What about that noise we kept hearing?" Sonomi said changing the subject. "It sounded just like Kuriboh."

"Well, this little guy," Kokuro began taking Kuriboh from his Graveyard slot, "is sort of like our friendship card. The Kuriboh Plushy, and the Kuriboh that helped save you from that attack from Professor Hikari. I bet it's because it represents our friendship."

"But why are we hearing it?" she asked again.

"I don't know," Kokuro said as they all looked down at it.

* * *

Kaiba was sitting in his office looking over some paperwork. "It's almost ready," he said to himself. "I just have to wait a bit longer." He heard a knock on the door, "Enter," he said.

The man that came in was Jukata-Sensei. "Master Kaiba, I was just wondering how the new project was going."

Kaiba sighed and sat back in his chair, "It's almost done, but it's going to be hard. We need to keep a close eye on all the students while it goes on. And as much as I may want to, I can't start it yet. Classes just began about a week ago."

"That's true, but it does seem like so much more than just a week doesn't it?"

"Yes, there is Mr. Samé and Ms. Hinote who have proven themselves to be excellent duelists. With all the duels they've been in so far it does seem like more than just a week since Mr. Samé was introduced into the halls of Duelist Academy. I have a strong feeling that they will be fine, but it's a lot of the other students I worry about. I can't let them get hurt," he turned his chair and looked out the big glass window that was behind him. "I'm going to reschedule the nature hike to begin in two days. I'll be busy getting the rest of the project ready, so I need you to contact the Suji-Sensei and have his men get everything ready tomorrow, that includes getting the signs out tonight. After the Nature Hike the Quarterly Exams will be just a week away and then I will begin the project."

"I sure hope this all works out," Jukata-Sensei said.

"I do too," he said looking down.


	12. Begin Nature Hike!

Sdrive: I don't own it.

A/N: I try not to let Author Notes in my story too often because I feel they take away from the story, however there is big news that I have. This chapter starts the Nature Hike Mini-Arch. It is a 5-chapter story arch where our three hero's go into the wilderness of the Academy accompanied by other students and teachers. It was a big tussle for me to write. I wanted to take this time to tell all of you this because this Mini Arch has key elements that will lead up to bigger things in the story. I am eager to see how you all will react to different events played out before you. Last thing is that the duel in this chapter has some duel errors in it concerning certain cards. Specifically how many of these cards you can have in a deck. I am going to tell you now that I am well aware of these mistakes and I used my right as an author to ignore them. I am ignoring them much like Card of Sanctity, what it does in every story written and what it really does in real life. There is also another portion where a monster gains some extra attack points when it is not supposed to. I am also aware of this rule and I am again using my power to override it. I am telling you this now because I don't want certain reviewers to be complaining about this. –coughpeacecough- Excuse me, I seem to have gotten a cold. –coughcoughzenryocough- That's one bad cold. So without any more delay, I bring you the Duelist Academy Nature Hike Mini Arch.

* * *

After the duel with Yaku the rest of that day had come and gone without any excitement. The next morning Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia all left early to make sure they had enough time to get to class. Kokuro and Sonomi got through Professor Hikari's class without any problems. He seemed to be halfway distracted to them. The rest of the day was just as uneventful and before they knew it they were out of class.

"I can't believe how fast the day went," Mia said to them as they were walking back to their dorm.

"Was it just me, or did all the teachers seem distracted?" Sonomi asked.

"I noticed that too," Kokuro said. "I didn't mind though. It gave me the chance to look over my deck while I was in math."

"Kokuro!" Mia scolded. "You are supposed to be working on math in math class!"

"Yeah, but then again I'm not good at math anyway. Besides, the teacher just told us to do some problems in the textbook and then just sort of let it be. I did the problems quickly enough and then just went to sorting my cards and the such." They were walking along until they saw a sign with a poster on it. "What's this?"

"Hmm," Mia said bending down to look at it. "Nature Hike, spend 3 days in the exciting forest behind the academy. Other fun activities include campfires, ghost stories and dueling in the dark. Counts as an excused absence."

"Well, what do you know?" Kokuro said smiling. "This sounds awesome. I so want to do it!"

"Me too!" Mia said excitedly. "No classes, scary ghost stories, lets do it!"

"Yeah!" Kokuro exclaimed just as excitedly, "You coming Sonomi?"

"I don't know," She started.

"Come on, it will be fun!" Mia said. "It's a good chance to get out of the class and do some good, relaxed dueling."

"You've been talking to her haven't you?" Sonomi asked Kokuro.

"Maybe a little," Kokuro said shyly.

"I don't know…I mean, what about class?"

"It says right here it's an excused absence," Mia said.

There was a lingering image of the man in her dreams going through her mind. But when she looked at her companion's hopeful faces, she couldn't help but smile. She sighed and then put on a smile, "alright, I'm in," she said. Kokuro cheered and Mia gave her smile and peace sign.

"It says we have to register with the gym teacher, Suji-Sensei," Mia said reading the sign.

"Well, lets go register already!" Sonomi said a bit excited. The other two looked at her funny for a moment but then cheered. They began to walk off together with Sonomi thinking to herself, 'maybe this is my chance to finally relax like Kokuro keeps telling me to do and to finally have some fun.'

* * *

In the Osiris Red Dormitory Kyusai-Sensei, came in through the door to see Ritsuzen reading a book and wearing the same outfit he had been since he came to the academy. "Mr. Nushi, you know it is academy policy to be wearing school uniform at all times."

"I will not wear such a demeaning outfit," Ritsuzen said calmly putting his book down.

"Yes, well you will have to start wearing the Osiris Red uniform sooner or later."

"What harm does it do anyone if the type of uniform I wear doesn't impact the school at large?" he asked.

"The uniform is a symbol of the pride you have in your…"

"Don't even _finish _that thought. I have no pride being stuck in a dormitory full of worthless cretins. If you want me to wear an academy outfit, then hand over my Obelisk Blue uniform."

"You know I can not do that. Besides, you should be happy that Master Kaiba was nice enough to put you in a semi-private room. The only other person who is in this room is I."

"You have no idea how much joy that brings me," Ritsuzen said sarcastically.

"In any case, I figured you might be interested in this," he said sitting down across from Ritsuzen pulling up a desk. He showed him a smaller version of the poster that Kokuro, Mia, and Sonomi had looked at. "It's a three day hike out in the wilderness of the Academy. I thought it would be a good way for you to get out of the stuffy dormitory and maybe vent some of your anger out there."

"Thanks but I think I will stay here and read my book," he said, emotion devoid from his voice.

"But, there will be many other duelists there, and Master Kaiba even recommended that you should go."

"Listen, you may be Kaiba's lap dog, but I'm not. Listen to the words you just spoke, he _recommended_ it. That is not a direct order. That is where you ask me if I want to do it, like you did, and when I say no, you stop bugging me about it. As for the other duelists, I could easily destroy them all. So, with both sides of the argument heard, I see now that there is no need for me to attend. Besides, the less I am seen out with you, the better my image is."

"That's a shame, I really thought you would enjoy this. I figured it would also be a good way for you and I to get to know each other better."

"I'm not an incompetent boob like you. I realize that you were assigned to me to spy on me. I also realize that you don't truly want to be around me as much as I don't want to be around you. So why don't you just let me read my book, and stop bothering me." With that he opened his book up again and showed no other signs of continuing the conversation.

* * *

At the gymnasium Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia were just about done talking to Suji-Sensei. "Remember kids, don't forget your decks, your Duel Disks, and remember to pack warm clothes."

"Yes Suji-Sensei," they answered.

"Good, be prepared to leave tomorrow at noon, you will not have to go to your morning classes. Also any duels played out on the Nature Hike will not affect rank so go ahead and try something different for the hike if you want."

"Yes Suji-Sensei," they answered again and with that they were allowed out. They walked around the outside of the academy.

"This is so exciting," Mia said. "I can't wait for tomorrow to come."

"We should pack tonight so that we are ready tomorrow," Kokuro said. "That way we have the morning to do whatever we want."

"I like that idea," Mia said smiling. "Sound like a plan Sonomi?"

"Yeah, it sounds good," she replied.

They went back to their dorm room and began to pack their things. Once they were done they hung out in their dorm room talking about how much fun they were going to have. Night soon came and they all went to sleep. The next morning they woke up later than usual. They rushed to get dressed so that they could get what was last of breakfast. When they came back they double-checked everything once more to make sure they had everything. A little while afterwards Kokuro was looking through his cards on his bed. He had a card in his hand and was looking it over when Sonomi came over to him, "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Suji-Sensei said we could make changes to our decks since our duels won't affect our ranks. So I thought maybe I could make a change or two, the problem is that I can't think of anything."

"Why should you change? Your deck is pretty good as it is."

"I know, but it might be fun," he said.

"Hey guys!" Mia said running in. "They're showing one of Master Kaiba's duels from the first ever Battle City Tournament on the lounge TV."

"Really?" Kokuro said. "I'm there," he said absentmindedly putting the card in his deck. He put the other cards down and he went with them to the lounge.

At 11:30 they decided they should head down. They each slid their Duel Disks onto their arms, put their backpacks on, and grabbed their decks. They walked out of the dorm and headed towards the meeting spot. When they got there they saw about 7 other students down there, some Osiris Red, a few Ra Yellow, and two Obelisk Blues. Among the two Obelisk Blue students was Yaku. The trio of fiends walked over to him and started talking.

"Hey Yaku," Kokuro said walking up to him.

"Hey how's it going?" he asked.

"Not too bad," Sonomi replied. "So I take it you will be here on this as well?"

"You bet! I never got the chance to do it my first two years here so I figured that I might as well do it now while I have the chance."

"Well, that's good," Kokuro said. It was 11:50 before the last of the students had arrived. About 14 other students had come giving a grand total of 24 students.

"Well, I suppose this is our group this year," Suji-Sensei said to them. "Alright listen up, this hike will be 3 days long. At some point you will all be allowed to split up into individual groups so I suggest you make friends if you don't see anyone you know already so that you can have a group of your own. School rules still apply so if there is any misbehaving of any kind you will be sent back to the academy and be dealt with properly, do you all understand?"

"Yes sir," the group said.

"Good. Notuko-Sensei and Okotun-Sensei will be traveling with us so that I don't have to keep an eye on all of you at the same time. Now, lets get out here and explore the area!" he said a little excitedly. Suji-Sensei was a large muscular man with brown hair, while the other two where skinnier with not as much muscle on their bodies.

The group began its journey into the wilderness surrounding the academy. As they were walking Kokuro heard his PDA go off. He dug through his pocket for it and then clicked read.

_Be careful,_

_-Ami_

Sonomi and Mia were looking over his shoulder when he read it. "Who's Ami?" Mia asked.

"I have no clue," Kokuro said dumbfounded. "This is the third one I've gotten. The first said, 'thank you,' the second was, 'I forgot to say congratulations,' and then this one. I have no idea how they got my number or who they are."

"Sounds like a stalker," Sonomi said chuckling a bit. "You might want to talk to administration about this when we get back."

"Well, they haven't said anything mean yet. I guess for now I'll just wait to see if they ever decide to show themselves to me."

The group hiked about an hour before finally sitting down to rest. Suji-Sensei looked around and smiled. "This is a pretty decent spot, why don't we make this our campsite? There is large lake not to far from here. We can use that to bathe in, in shifts of course, and the area is pretty much spread out. There is even a spot for a campfire right over there. I think this will make a great spot. I guess we should set up our tents then. Alright boys on the left, girls on the right."

The students got ready and started setting up their tents. Kokuro and Yaku decided to share a tent while Sonomi and Mia shared their own. It took most of the students about 15 minutes since almost none of them had ever put up a tent. Luckily for Yaku, Sonomi, and Mia, Kokuro had gone camping with Yamato a few times back home and knew how to put up a tent fairly easily. Once they were done with the tents Suji-Sensei suggested that they continue to hike around some more.

The students got their things together and took a two-hour hike through the forest. During one of the breaks Suji-Sensei was explaining to them some of the stuff they would be doing while out there. "The reason I'm taking you out into the wilderness right now is so that you can learn the area. You see tomorrow we will have a nighttime scavenger hunt. What will happen is you all will break off into teams of no more than 3 no less than 1. After all, it wouldn't be a team if you were the only one in it. In any case, you and your teammates will work together to find 6 different colored stones that we will have hidden within the woods. If you learn your surroundings now it will be easier to know which way to go. But I won't go into too much detail about that. Tomorrow I will take you out so that you can explore the rest of the area and strategize with your new team."

"The day after that we will take a long 4 hour hike to the volcano over there." He said pointing up at the volcano to the right of them. "Right now we are about half of the way there. We've only traveled an hour and getting there would take us another hour, but remember, we also have to hike over the volcano too. For that it will take complete co-operation. There is a beach on the other side of the volcano, which will take a half hour to get too after the volcano. We will break there for about 2 hours and then we'll head back over back to the campsite. All in all that will be an 11 hour day if we were to go nonstop but of course we will take breaks in between. Don't worry; we'll be starting exceptionally early that day. The morning after that we will do one final hike if everyone is up for it and then head back to the academy." Everyone started cheering and Suji-Sensei smiled. "Alright guys, back to hiking!"

After they got back to the campsite it was 3:00. Everyone was worn out and they were ready for the big adventures of the coming day. Some students had gone off to duel while Kokuro, Mia, and Sonomi decided to take a walk. They were told not to go too far away from the campsite and they promised they wouldn't. They decided to take their Duel Disks just incase and they went off.

"So what do you guys think about that scavenger hunt?" Mia asked.

"I think we'll be the best team around!" Sonomi said pumped up a little.

"I think it will be cool but I'm sure there will be a twist," Kokuro said.

"What do you mean?" Mia asked.

"I think you are right," Sonomi said.

"What are you two talking about?" Mia asked.

"Well," Sonomi said. "Think about it, most scavenger hunts have prizes right?"

"Yeah," Mia said.

"And usually you have to find different kind of objects," she continued. "But all we are finding here are different colored stones."

"Yeah, so?"

"Well," Kokuro said picking up where Sonomi left off. "He's going to take a lot of the day showing us the area so that we know how to get around. Why hide them so very far apart unless there was some kind of extra twist?"

"I think I see what you are getting at," Mia said. "So maybe, it's more than just beat the other players to the prize? Maybe there will be certain rules?"

"Exactly," Kokuro said.

"And I bet these rules are in some way related to Duel Monsters," Sonomi said.

"I do too," Kokuro said.

"That would be so cool if it was," Mia said.

A thought occurred to Kokuro, "I thought you two did this last year."

"Well," Mia began, "I was pretty new here, just like Sonomi. We met because we where in the same dorm room. Back then she was still really uptight," Mia said nudging Sonomi. "Actually, she's not as uptight any longer, not since she met you."

Sonomi's face flushed a bit, "just get to the point."

"Yeah, well anyway, Sonomi was the only friend I had back then. The nature hike was later on in the year and I really wanted to go but I didn't' want to go alone. So I asked Sonomi if she wanted to go but she was really working hard and getting stronger as a duelist. She didn't want to go because she was focusing on her work. So I didn't go."

"I see," Kokuro said, then another thought occurred to him. "Wait, you said it was later in the year?"

"Yeah," Sonomi said. "I was surprised when we found out it was so early in the year. I mean, it's really only the second week.

"I'm confused, why would they do it this early?"

"Maybe they figured that if they did it earlier, it would be easier for first years to find their way around the grounds," Mia suggested.

"Maybe," Sonomi said.

"Either way I'm glad that for once my being a first year has nothing to do with my not understanding."

The other two laughed. "Yeah, you caught a break this time," Sonomi said chuckling.

Just then they saw Yaku waving them over towards him. They walked up to him and saw that standing next to him was a girl with blonde hair, and sparkling crystal eyes. She was about as tall as Sonomi and about as thin as her. She had a beautiful face and didn't look over 19. "Hey guys, I would like you to meet my sister, Elda."

"It's nice to meet you," Kokuro said shaking her hand.

"It's nice to meet you too," she said smiling.

"I didn't know you had a sister," Sonomi said.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Kokuro asked.

"Yaku was in a few of my classes last year," She said. "We had study sessions together every now and then."

"Yup," Yaku said. "Anyway, my sister is here for a visit. She works with I2 and came down to see me. She used to be a student here and when she found out that the nature hike was going to start today she got special permission from Master Kaiba himself to come and join me."

"Wait, I2?" Kokuro asked. "What is that?"

"I2 stands for Industrial Illusions," Elda answered. "I'm the product manager who is in charge of what booster packs are created and what cards go into them. It's a pretty important job as I'm sure you can guess."

"That is _so_ cool," Mia said.

"You said you got permission from Master Kaiba himself," Sonomi said. "How did you pull that off?"

"Because I'm the one whom he purchases all the cards in the card shop from. Plus I was an A student. He has always welcomed me into the Academy and told me that he was proud of my business skills. Also on more than a few occasions he has told me that if I ever had any reason to, I could work for him at Kaiba Corp."

Kokuro whistled, "A job at Kaiba Corp, there's big bucks right there."

"Yeah, but I'm happy with my job at I2. Besides, if I didn't work at I2 he wouldn't be able to get the first ever booster packs before they hit the shelves."

"Yeah I guess so," Mia said cheerfully. "You're lucky to have such a cool older sister Yaku."

"Thanks," he said.

"So, anyway," Elda said turning to Kokuro. "My little brother here says you are quite the duelist."

"I told her all about our duel and how you've beaten Professor Hikari, Ritsuzen, and Sonomi."

"And more importantly, he told me what kind of deck you run," she said. "And it just so happens I have a card that could help your deck out," she said holding up a card.

"Thank you but I can't just take it…" Kokuro began

"Of course you can't," she said. "You have to duel for it."

"A duel?" Kokuro said smiling. "In that case I accept."

"I thought you would," she said smiling. She reached into her backpack that was sitting next to her and pulled out a Duel Disk. She put it on her arm and then took her deck out of her jacket. She shuffled the card into her deck and then inserted it into the disk causing it to fold out. "Hope you don't mind if I use the card," she said.

"Not at all," Kokuro said. "I love a challenge," he said taking out his deck from his deck box. He shuffled it and slid it into his Duel Disk causing it to fold out. "DUEL!" they announced.

"I'll let you go first," she said smiling.

"Very well," he said drawing his cards. He frowned at one of them. "I really need to replace this card," he said. "It doesn't suite my deck but until I get other cards he needs to stay in. So for now I summon Archfiend Soldier." A tall purple demon appeared on the field wielding a sword. He had a black cape on that blew in the wind. (1900/1500) "I'll set one card under the table and end my turn," he said as his card appeared.

Elda drew her card and smiled, she liked what she saw. "I Hope you are ready for quite a show," she said. "But first I have to ask, Kokuro, do you think I'm pretty?"

"Whuh…what?" Kokuro asked stumbling.

Sonomi's face flushed, "What kind of question is that to be making in a duel?"

Mia giggled a little, "Sonomi you're blushing."

"What! I am not!" Mia just giggled a bit again.

"I'll ask again, do you think I'm pretty?"

"Go ahead and answer her," Yaku said. "I won't kill you if you say yes."

"Um…yes?" he said nervously.

"Well then you should agree that my cards should be just as pretty right?"

"Huh? What does this have to do with dueling?"

"Oh very well, I'll just make my move," she said a roughly. "I activate the field card Harpies Hunting Ground." Her Field Card Slot slid open, she placed the card in and it slid shut. The area around them didn't change too much except that the grass seemed a bit longer and a tree appeared behind her. "Confused? Here let me help, I summon Harpie Lady!" she said placing the card on the field. The card appeared and glowed but no monster appeared."

"Where is your monster?" Kokuro asked.

"Hunting," Elda replied. Suddenly from the tree above, a beautiful bird like woman with claws and talons swept down from the tree behind Elda and slashed at Kokuro's face down card. The card was blown to pieces and the woman flew back to Elda's side of the field. (1300/1400)

"What did you do to my Magic Cylinder?" Kokuro asked.

"My Harpies Hunting ground allows me to destroy one Spell or Trap card on the field when a Harpie Lady or Harpie Lady Sisters appear on the field. So your Magic Cylinder was the first to taste my Harpie's claws. So, what do you think? Is my Harpie as beautiful as me?"

"What's with all these beauty questions!" Sonomi exclaimed blushing some more.

Elda laughed a little, "Oh Sonomi, you must calm down. I'm only going to be here for the nature hike. Once I'm gone you can have Kokuro back all to yourself. I don't blame you either, he is kind of cute."

Kokuro looked around nervously, blushing a little, "Um, you placed a monster that was weaker than mine," Kokuro said trying to get back to the duel.

"Ahh yes, I forgot to mention my Harpies Hunting Ground also allows all winged-beast type monsters an extra 200 attack and defense points." She watched as her Harpies attack power increased. (1500/1600)

"It's still weaker, than my Archfiend," Kokuro said.

"Not for long," she said as she slid a Spell Card into the Spell/Trap field zone. "Cyber Shield, giving my Harpie Lady an extra 500 attack points." The Harpie Lady became equipped with all kinds of battle armor making it stronger. (2000/1600) "Now who's stronger?" she asked. "Harpie Lady, wipe out that ugly creature!" she commanded as the Harpie Lady came down and swiped its claws at the archfiend destroying it. "You don't lose a lot of Life Points but at least I got rid of that monster for you," Elda said as his Life Points went down. (7900) "To finish I'll set one card under the table and that will do it for me." The card appeared in front of her.

"That turn certainly could have gone better," Kokuro said drawing his card. He looked down to discover his Mage Power. "This should make up for it," he said. "I summon Blast Magician," he said as a magician in red robes appeared on the field carrying a long scepter with a scythe at the end. (1400/1700) "Next I'll activate Mage Power," he said equipping it to his magician. "This will give my Blast Magician an extra 500 attack points for every Spell and Trap on my side of the field, so I'll also set this card face down," he said as his card appeared. (2400/2700) "Also since I activated a Spell Card my Blast Magician gains a Spell Counter," he said watching an orb on the Blast Magician's scepter glow.

"You don't need to explain how the Spell Counter works," Elda said. "I already know that you can remove it to destroy a monster with 700 attack or less for each spell counter. And that the more you remove the stronger a monster you can destroy."

"I wasn't going to explain anything yet," Kokuro said. "I was hoping you wouldn't know what it did. In any case my Blast Magician is now strong enough to destroy your Harpie Lady. Go Blast Magician, destroy her Harpie Lady with your Magic Scythe Slash!"

"I'm afraid not," she said smiling as her face down card flipped up. "Reverse Harpie Lady Sparrow Formation."

"What does that do?" Kokuro worriedly asked.

"It allows me to stop your attacks by the number of Harpies I have on the field. So since I have one I can stop one of your attacks." The Harpie Lady started to burn with orange fire and turned into the form of a giant flaming sparrow. The Sparrow blocked the Blast Magicians attack and sent it back to Kokuro's side of the field.

"Not bad," Kokuro said. "I'll end my turn from there."

Elda drew her card and smiled. "You are in for one heck of a treat my friend. I summon Harpie Lady 1!" The card appeared but the monster didn't appear again.

"So where is it?" Kokuro asked.

"The first part of my Harpies special ability is that its name counts as Harpie Lady. So in other words, it allows me to destroy your Mage Power thanks to Harpies Hunting Ground."

"Oh no!" Kokuro exclaimed as he watched the Harpie Lady fly down from the tree and slash the Mage Power card away. He watched in horror as his Blast Magician's attack power lowered. (1400/700)

"And like my other Harpie Lady, Harpie Lady 1 is a Winged Beast so it gains the power up from being in the hunting ground. (1500/1600) "Don't think I'm done yet. Harpie Lady 1's other special ability allows it to grant an extra 300 attack points to all Wind Type Monsters on the field. And all of my Harpies are Wind Monsters," she said smiling as her monsters attack powers increased. Harpie Lady: (2300/1600) Harpie Lady 1: (1800/1600). "Next it's time to bring out even more Harpies."

"But how?" Mia asked.

"Yeah, you already summoned this turn," Sonomi said.

"True, but with Elegant Egotist as long as I have a Harpie Lady on the field I can special summon another Harpie Lady or Harpie Lady Sisters, from my hand or deck!" She took a card from her deck and placed it on the field. A trio of Harpie Ladies appeared on the field together, one with armor, one with a whip, and one with rather large claws. (1950/2100) "And since I summoned Harpie Lady Sisters they can destroy your other face down card!" The Harpies flew towards the card and slashed at it destroying it.

"And there goes my Diffusion Wave Motion," he said nervously.

"He's losing all his best defensive cards," Mia said.

"I know," Sonomi said.

"Oh, and because they are Winged Beasts and Wind Types they gain power bonuses," she said as her Harpie Lady Sisters got stronger. (2450/2300) "Now I activate Card of Sanctity, forcing us to draw until we have 6 cards in our hands," she stated as she drew 5 new cards and Kokuro drew 4.

On his last draw Kokuro, Sonomi and Mia all heard the sound of Kuriboh and when Kokuro pulled it, it was indeed Kuriboh. "That is just too weird," Kokuro said.

"There's that sound again," Mia said.

"You three must be delusional," Yaku said. "I didn't hear a thing."

"Neither did I," Elda said. "But delusional or not I'm still taking you out. Harpie Lady, attack Blast Magician" The Harpie flew down and slashed Blast Magician with its claws. (7000) "Harpie Lady 1, attack the player!" The Harpie flew down and stuck Kokuro in the chest causing him to fall over backwards. (5200) "Now Harpie Lady Sisters, attack the player!" The Harpie Sisters flew towards Kokuro but he slid Kuriboh into his Graveyard Slot. Kuriboh gave out a cry as it was destroyed.

"It's definitely Kuriboh," Mia said.

"No doubt," Sonomi said.

"You have saved your Life Points this turn," she said. "Next turn you won't be so lucky."

Kokuro drew his card, "Thanks I'll be sure to be careful," he said. "The first thing I'm doing is taking away your hunting ground. And nothing blows trees over better than good strong wind so I'll use my Mystical Space Typhoon to get rid of the hunting ground." A large wind picked up and blew through the field causing the tree that had appeared behind Elda to fall over as it was also struck by lightning. "And in doing that I also weaken your monsters a bit," he said. Harpie Lady: (2100/1400) Harpie Lady 1 (1600/1400) Harpie Lady Sisters: (2250/2100)

"Well, that's a bit of a set back, but not enough to fret about."

"We'll see," Kokuro said. "I set two cards under the table and then one monster on guard and end my turn,"

She drew her card and looked at it, she couldn't hide the smile on her face. "I hate to break it to you, but this duel is practically done," she said. "I summon Harpies Brother," she said as a man with large wings and armor appeared on the field. (1800/1000) "Don't get too friendly with him, unlike my girls he's only here for a sacrifice."

"Too bad you will have to wait a turn before you can sacrifice him," Kokuro said.

"Except I don't have too," she said smiling. "I activate Tribute Doll! I now offer up my Harpies Brother and I special summon Harpies Pet Dragon." Suddenly a large red dragon appeared on the field and roared menacingly. (2000/2500) "Now, here's a special treat, my Harpies Pet Dragon is a Wind Type so it gains 300 extra attack points from Harpie Lady 1, and since its special ability gives it an extra 300 attack points for every Harpie Lady and Harpie Lady Sisters on the field it gains an additional 1200 attack points." Kokuro watched the dragon roar again as it's attack points increased. (3200/2500) "Ready for the last treat? I activate a second Elegant Egotist allowing me to summon another Harpie Lady 1." The last of the Harpies appeared on the field with a screech. "And now all wind types will gain another 300 attack points and my Harpies Pet Dragon will gain an extra 300 attack points for one last Harpie Lady."

Kokuro watched as all monsters on the field powered up. Harpie Lady: (2400/1400) Harpie Lady 1 x2 (1900/1400), Harpie Lady Sisters: (2550/2100) Harpies Pet Dragon: (3800/2500)

Kokuro stared up at the Dragon, it was amazing at how strong it was. "This is the most devastating Harpie Deck I've ever seen!" Sonomi exclaimed.

"I agree," Mia said. "Harpie Decks aren't usually this powerful."

"I'll take both of those as a compliment," Elda said smiling. "Good thing for you Kokuro that due to my Tribute Doll my Dragon can't attack this turn or else it would finish you off. But my others can, and will. Harpie Lady, attack Kokuro's monster!"

"Reverse Trap, Wall of Revealing Light! I'll pay 4000 Life Points to keep you from attacking." (1200)

"Well, once I get past your wall you won't have anything protecting your Life Points. I set one card under the table and end my turn."

"I'll chain my Solemn Wishes Trap Card to your setting," Kokuro said. "Now it's my turn," he announced as he drew his card. Sparkling rain fell down on him as his Life Points increased. (1700) He smiled when he saw what it was. "I reverse my Old Vindictive Magician and use its special ability to destroy your Pet Dragon!"

"Way to go!" Mia cheered.

"Good job," Sonomi said.

"It would have been good, if I didn't just use my Harpies Feather Storm to cancel out his Magician's effect," Elda said as a whole bunch of feathers appeared on the field and blurred the magician's eye sight. The blast went up far past the dragon and the other harpies.

"He was so close," Mia sighed.

"Don't feel bad Kokuro," Yaku said to him. "I can't even beat her, and I got better grades than her."

"Grades don't mean anything," Kokuro said. The others around him all gasped when he said this. "Grades are important but just because someone has high or low grades doesn't mean they are a bad duelist. This is a fun duel, and if I miss my chance at that card, then I won't feel too bad, I'll know that I played my hardest."

"Good attitude," Elda said. "You know what's important and you have a lot of faith in yourself, I like that. Keep up the good work."

"I will," Kokuro said. "Just because my mages ability didn't work doesn't mean I can't work around it. I hope you are ready because you are about to see a really pretty magician. One that's cute-ness surpasses your Harpies. So I'll offer up my Old Vindictive Magician for my Black Magician Girl!" The old magician disappeared and the ever-cute magician girl appeared in her sky blue outfit twirling around and giving a peace sign. (2000/1700)

"I'll give you this much, she sure is cute, but she isn't stronger than my Harpies."

"That is not entirely true," Kokuro said smiling.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Then it dawned on her, "My Harpie Lady 1's!"

"That's right," he said. "Their attack power is 1900, 100 below what my Black Magician Girl is."

"Alright!" Mia cheered.

"Way to go!" Sonomi agreed.

"And as long as you can't attack, I can start picking off your two Harpies and weakening the power of your other harpies and in turn weakening the power of your Dragon."

"Oh no!" Elda gasped.

"Go Black Magician Girl, attack her Harpie Lady 1 with Burning Magic Attack!" The Magician Girl gathered a ball of energy in her wand and blasted the Harpie Lady away."

"You won't get away with this," Elda said as she watched her Life Points decreased and her monsters attack power decreased as well. (7900) Harpie 1 (1600/1400), Harpies Pet: (3200/2500), Harpie Sisters: (2250/2100), Harpie Lady: (2100/1400)

"I think I will," Kokuro said rather pleased with himself. "I end my turn."

She drew her card and smiled a bit. "I summon Harpie Lady 3," she said as she summoned her monster. Another Harpie appeared on the field and increased the attack power of Harpies Pet Dragon. Pet Dragon: (3500/2500), Harpie 3 (1600/1400). "That ends my turn," she said.

Kokuro drew his card and watched as his Life Points increased. (2200) 'I have to be careful, if she gets past my wall, I'm finished.' "I summon Skilled Black Magician," he said as his magician in black robes appeared on the field. (1900/1700) "Skilled Black Magician, destroy the Harpie Lady 1!" The magician cast a spell and blasted away the other Harpie causing changes in scores once again. Harpie 3: (1300/1400), Harpies Pet: (2600/2500), Harpie Sisters: (1950/2100). "Black Magician Girl, now that they are weak enough attack the Harpie Lady Sisters!" The Magician Girl let loose multiple blasts of magic destroying the three Harpies. The Dragons attack power lowered again as well as Elda's Life Points. (2300/2500) (7550) "That will end my turn."

Elda drew her card and looked at it, she sighed slightly but then realized a play she could make. "I play my last Elegant Egotist! I use it to bring my Harpie Lady Sisters to the field on guard." The Harpie Sisters appeared on the field in a defensive stance. (1950/2100) The Harpie's Dragon roared as it gained more attack points. (2600/2500) "That ends my turn."

Kokuro drew his card and looked at it smiling. His Life Points increased and he smiled even more. (2700) "I activate Sages Stone," he said. "I use it to bring forth my Black Magician!" Kokuro's favorite magician appeared on the field and he smiled when he saw it. (2500/2100) "I hope you are ready for this," he said. "I send my Black Magician to strike down your Harpie Sisters!" The Black Magician blasted its magic at the Harpie's and they were destroyed. Harpies Dragon got weaker as Kokuro smiled at his magicians. (2300/2500) "Black Magician Girl, take out that Harpie Lady 3!" The Black Magician girl prepared to attack the Harpie Lady. Suddenly it flew towards the Magician girl and slashed its stomach. The Magician Girl glared at it and blasted it point blank range. The Magician Girl smiled but suddenly grabbed her chest in pain. "What happened to my Black Magician Girl?" Kokuro asked.

Elda gave a small laugh as her Life Points fell. (6850) "She succumbed to poison."

"Poison?" Kokuro asked.

"Yes, you see, whenever a monster does battle with my Harpie Lady 3, they become unable to attack for 2 turns afterwards."

Kokuro looked at his suffering Black Magician Girl, "I'm sorry," he said. He then turned back to Elda, "I end my turn.

"Very good, that makes it my turn then," she said drawing her card. "I activate Pot of Greed," she said drawing two cards. She started laughing when she saw her card. "I'm sorry to say this, but I think my Dragon has kept you at bay for long enough. So now I must bid it farewell." She took the card off the disk and slipped it into the Graveyard causing the monster to disappear.

"You can't just decide to not use a monster because it will get defeated," Kokuro said.

"I know that," she said. "I think it's high time that you saw the card you will gain if you win this duel. But in order to summon it I needed to sacrifice one monster first. So I offered up my Pet Dragon in order to summon him. She placed the card down on the field and suddenly a magician with blonde hair, a small, thin, silver staff, and silver colored robes that looked a bit like a trench coat appeared on the field. (2400/1000) "Meet Cybernetic Magician!"

"Cybernetic Magician?" Kokuro asked looking at the card.

"Yes, this is the card you will get if you win," Elda said smiling. "It's a magician from the future. This card hasn't even hit the shelves yet, so it's your chance to get an extremely rare card before everyone else."

"And you are willing to just give it to me?" he asked.

"I already told you, you have to win it first," she said smiling.

"Well, it must have a pretty powerful effect," Kokuro said.

"I'll say it does. It will cause the Black Magician himself to cower in fear."

"I doubt that," Kokuro said as he watched his Magician stare down Elda's.

"Well, I sure hope you are ready for this," she said. "Because for now I will play Mystical Space Typhoon!" A gust of wind came through the field and before Kokuro knew it his Wall of Revealing Light was destroyed. "Much better, now I can show you how strong my magician is. In order for its effect to work I need to first drop a card from my hand," she explained as she slid her Harpie Girl from her hand to her graveyard.

"Kokuro be careful," Sonomi cautioned.

"You know what this thing does?" He asked looking back at her.

"No," she responded. "But remember Yaku's XYZ Dragon Cannon? Cards that force the player to discard from their hand to activate an effect are usually very powerful."

"And this one is no exception," Elda said smiling. "Now for the next part of the effect, I designate one monster on the field, and I choose your Black Magician." The Cybernetic Magician pointed its staff at the Black Magician and the magician got ready for whatever was coming. "Now for the actual effect. My Cybernetic Magician makes any monster on the field that I choose become a 2000 attack point monster for the rest of the turn."

"What!" Kokuro exclaimed. The Cybernetic Magician's staff began to glow, as did the Black Magician. As the Black Magician glowed his attack power decreased. (2000/2100) "But, that means that your Cybernetic Magician is now stronger than my Black Magician!"

"That's exactly what it means," Elda said. "Go Cybernetic Magician, attack Black Magician with Cyber Magic Blast!" The Magician's staff began to glow; he let out a blast of silver magic that struck the Black Magician in the chest destroying him, reducing Kokuro's Life Points. (1800) Black Magician Girl began to glow and gain more attack points. (2300/1700) "I can see that it will be very hard for you to win now. I end my turn."

Kokuro drew his card and the Solemn Wishes rained down on him giving him more Life Points. (2300) "I've already discovered the weakness of the card," Kokuro said smiling. "If you have no cards in you hand, like you do right now, his effect is powerless. And sometimes you might just need that other card you draw and can't risk his effect. However, it's still a powerful monster, so in any case I'll switch my two magicians on guard, set one monster on guard, and end my turn." Black Magician Girl and Skilled Black Magician moved to a defensive stance and a card appeared face down on Kokuro's side of the field.

Elda drew her card and smiled, "You may be right that I need cards in my hand, and getting more cards is exactly what I'm going to do."

"How?" Kokuro asked.

"With this, Card Of Demise!" She slid the card into the one of her slots and it appeared on the field. "This card allows me to draw until I have 5 cards, but if I don't use them in 5 turns, I lose them in 5 turns." She drew cards from her deck and looked them over. "Perfect," she said. "I activate Harpies Hunting Ground," she said as the card slid into her field slot." The tree that had fallen over earlier appeared behind her again. "Next I'll summon Cyber Harpie!" she said as she placed a card on the Duel Disk reader. A Harpie Lady that seemed to be already equipped with Cyber Shield appeared in the tree. (1800/1300) "Its special ability makes it count as a Harpie Lady so it can destroy your Solemn Wishes!" The Harpie swept down and destroyed the Solemn Wishes trap.

"Now I can't get any more Life Points!" Kokuro gasped.

"Right, and since Cyber Harpie is a Winged Beast, it gains an extra 200 from the Hunting Grounds. (2000/1500) "Go Cyber Harpie, attack the Black Magician Girl with Cyber Slash!" Cyber Harpie flew down and slashed Black Magician Girl making her cry out in pain as she was destroyed. "Cybernetic Magician, destroy the Skilled Black Magician." The Magician let loose another blast of silver magic that destroyed the Skilled Black Magician. "That ends my turn," she said.

Kokuro knew he was in trouble; he needed some way to get his Black Magician back. He drew his card and looked down at it. "I activate Double Spell," he said. "I discard Tribute Doll in order to activate Card of Demise from your grave yard." He smiled knowing he had just given himself a chance. He took 5 cards off the top of his deck and looked them over. "This is just the chance I needed," he said. "First I activate Spell Absorption," he said as his card appeared on the field. "This will give me 500 Life Points for every Spell Card I activate. "Next I activate Premature Burial to bring back my Black Magician." The Black Magician returned to the field and Kokuro only lost 300 Life Points all together. (2000) "Black Magician, attack Cybernetic Magician! Black Magic Attack!" The Black Magician shot a blast of magic out at the other magician destroying it decreasing Elda's Life Points. (6750) "I'll set three cards under the table and end my turn," Kokuro announced.

"Its my turn," she said drawing her card. "Alright, it's time to finally win this. I summon my final Harpie Lady 1," she said putting her monster on the field.

"To your summon I reverse my Dust Tornado! I destroy your Harpies Hunting Ground preventing it from destroying any of my cards." A large tornado appeared in the field and went through the field destroying the hunting ground.

"No matter, I planned on changing the field anyway," she said as her Field Card Zone opened and she placed a new card in it. "I've activated Rising Air Current, now all Wind Monsters will gain 500 extra attack points, and another 300 from the Harpie Lady." "Harpie Lady: (2100/1000) Cyber Harpie: (2600/900)

"I gain 500 Life Points thanks to Spell Absorption," Kokuro mentioned. (2500)

"It's well past time I finished this," she said. "Cyber Harpie, finish off Kokuro's Black Magician!"

"Reverse Shadow Spell!" Kokuro called out as black chains held the Harpie captive. Her attack points decreased and Elda let out a small growl. (1900/900) Harpie 1, destroy his face down monster!" The Harpie came down and slashed the monster. An Apprentice Magician appeared on the field and was destroyed. "Not that!"

"I'm taking that by your expression you know what it does," Kokuro said smiling. He took a card from his deck and placed it face down then reshuffled his deck. "Are you done?"

"Yes, I end my turn," she said.

"Then it's my move," Kokuro said drawing. He looked down at his card and grinned. "Time to do some well deserved damage," he said. "I reverse my Old Mage to destroy your Cyber Harpie!" The magician let out a blast of magic and destroyed the Cyber Harpie. "Now I offer up my Old Mage in order to summon my Chaos Command Magician!" Kokuro's magician in green robes holding the long green staff appeared on the field. (2400/1500) "Chaos Command Magician, attack that Harpie Lady!" he called out. The Magician aimed its staff at the Harpie and easily destroyed it. "Now Black Magician, attack the player!" The Black Magician blasted magic out of its staff knocking Elda to the ground. (3950) "That ends my turn."

Elda slowly stood up and almost lost her balance. "Elda? Are you alright?" Yaku asked, clearly worried about her.

"I'm fine," she gasped. "That attack just had a bit more bite than expected. I should have guessed it would from such a rare card." She drew her card and looked down at it. "I set one monster on guard and end my turn."

Kokuro drew his card and smiled. "I summon White Magician Pikeru!" he said as his Magician in White Robes appeared on the field. "Go Chaos Command Magician, attack his monster!" Chaos Command Magician prepared its attack when suddenly one of her Harpie Ladies appeared on the field. It flew up to the Chaos Command Magician and tried to slash it across the chest, however a red barrier was put into place before it could reach the magician. The Harpie was pushed back and attacked by the magician.

"What just happened?" Elda asked.

"My Chaos Command Magician's special ability makes it so that it can't be affected by monster effects that directly targets it. So that means that your Harpie Lady had no effect on it. Now, Black Magician and White Magician Pikeru, attack the player!" The two magicians combined their attacks and the force of the blast sent Elda to the ground once again. (250) "You still have Life Points? I must have miscalculated the damage. Oh well, I end my turn."

Elda slowly got up and drew her card. She put it into her hand, "I can't win but I won't give up without a fight. I summon Harpies Brother!" The Harpies Brother appeared on the field and got stronger from the Rising Air Current. (2300/1000) "Harpies Brother, attack White Magician Pikeru! Use your Gale Force!" The Harpie flew up and flapped its wings causing razor sharp wind to fly down towards Pikeru and destroy it. (1400) "That ends my turn," she said as the Harpie came back down towards the ground.

Kokuro drew his card and placed it into his hand. "Black Magician, destroy Harpies Brother!" The Black Magician fired its magic at the Harpie destroying it. (50) "It was a good duel," Kokuro said. "Chaos Command Magician, finish her off!" The Magician fired a ruby colored blast of magic from its staff and knocked Elda to the ground. (0) The Holograms faded away and they all ran over to her. Kokuro helped her up, "Are you ok?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said under heavy breaths. She slid the Cybernetic Magician card from her Graveyard slot and handed it to Kokuro, "A deals a deal. You've earned this card."

"Thank you," Kokuro said taking the card. "I'll take good care of it."

"I'm sure you will," she said smiling. "But just know, we will still beat you in the scavenger hunt."

"Oh? What makes you so sure?" Sonomi asked.

"Because, my younger bro and I will be together as a team, and you won't be able to beat us," she said smiling.

"Yeah well, Kokuro and Mia and I will be glad to take you out," Sonomi said with fire in her eyes.

"Really?" Kokuro asked. "You want me to team up with you and Mia?"

"Of course," Sonomi said. "Sure Mia and I would probably do just fine on our own, but if you weren't there then it wouldn't feel right. We three are a team, and we won't let anything get in our way. Right Mia?"

"That's right!" Mia said smiling cheerfully and holding up her peace sign.

"Thank you," Kokuro said smiling. "You hear that? We'll beat you guys good," he said.

"Well then best of luck," Yaku said shaking Kokuro's hand, "and don't be too disappointed when you lose."

"We won't lose," Kokuro said.

Just then Suji-Sensei walked over to them, "Hey you guys, come on it's getting late. We're going to be having dinner now."

"Yes Suji-Sensei," all of them said together. They all headed back to the campsite and had dinner. Once it was dark all the students sat around the campfire and started telling ghost stories."

"...And so, some say, that even to this day, on the night of a full moon, you can still see the newly weds, dancing in the cemetery," Mia said in a low voice as she finished her ghost story.

"Very good Mia," Suji-Sensei said.

"Thanks," she said cheerfully. "So, Kokuro, I guess you are the last person to go."

Kokuro nodded, and looked at each of the other campers sitting around the campfire and grinned menacingly. "13, a number many have feared. A number that people have held so fearfully in their hearts. I need 12 of you to stand up now, if you aren't afraid," he said grinning menacingly. Sonomi was the first to stand up. Then Yaku and Elda stood up. After that, 9 other students stood up. "Good," he said evilly. "Now, I want you all to stand in a circle." The 12 students stood themselves in a circle and while they did so Kokuro pulled out a deck of regular playing cards. "I hope you all are prepared," he said with a malicious grin on his face. He shuffled his cards together so that everyone saw that they were not set in anyway. "We are going to play a game," he said. "The object of the game is to not have the number of cards in your hand equal 13. Jacks are 11, Queens are 12, Kings are 13. Aces are 1. If at anytime your cards equal up to 13 you die. If they go over 13 you are safe, if they are under 13, you are safe. Understand?" They all nodded. "Now I need 12 other students, but since there are only 24 of us all together, I will need two teachers." Suji-Sensei and Notuko-Sensei stood up along with the rest of the campers. Kokuro gave the cards one more shuffle, and then handed each of the 12 other people two cards. "Don't look at them," he said. "You're roles will come later. Now, are you ready to play?"

They all nodded, wondering how this was supposed to be a ghost story. "A long time ago, in ancient Egypt, a Priest was going about his daily duties. He was reading the future when he saw a vision. 13 separate armies would soon come from all over to strike the Pharaoh down and take his power. Worried, he went to consult the Pharaoh." Kokuro walked up to Yaku. "He told the Pharaoh about the invading armies and warned him that enemies would come to strike him down. He told him that they were still preparing and if he could defeat their armies now, they would be safe."

"Worried the Pharaoh called in his 11 most powerful warriors," he motioned for the other 11 students to step up and they did so. "The Pharaoh told them that they would soon be under attack and that he had to divide his armies up into 13 groups, with each warrior leading one of the 13 groups, the High Priest and the Pharaoh himself leading a group of their own. The High Priest warned them that they should be wary since they were dealing with the number 13. Remember, back then all were superstitious. So the High Priest placed a spell on the individual warriors for extra precautions. He told them that the spell would grant them extra strength, so they should be safe." Kokuro walked to each of the 12 other students and handed them a card from the top of the deck.

"'The more power you have, the better off you are,' the High Priest explained. 'Now, go off and fight.'" Kokuro paused a moment. "The cards you hold in your hand represent the amount of confidence and power you have in yourself, and how sure you are that you will succeed. An Ace and queen being the best chance you have to win" he said to the students. Then he continued the story, "So the armies went off to do battle with the enemies. As the armies went off the High Priest went to the Pharaoh and told him that he had placed an even more powerful spell on him. He told him that the only thing that could defeat the Pharaoh was that which he feared most. He then asked the Pharaoh what it was he feared the most. The Pharaoh responded, 'I have nothing to fear because I have faith in you. You saw this coming and were able to give us the best chance at victory.' Show them your card," Kokuro told Yaku. Yaku held his card up which was revealed to be an Ace.

Kokuro began talking again, "So the armies went off to do battle. Take your time to choose an opponent who you think you will have the best luck defeating," Kokuro told them. They all got sorted to be with who they thought would be the easiest to beat for them. "And so the great battle ensued," he began again. "The battles took many days but soon all of the Pharaoh's 11 mighty warriors had lost. The warriors and any remaining soldiers that might have still been alive were taken to the commanders of the opposing armies. When brought before them they had a choice. They could surrender and be spared, or they could try to fight and most assuredly die." Kokuro took a pause. "The card in the enemies right hand is surrender, while the card in the left hand is a chance to fight. This is your chance…do you fight? Or do you surrender? Choose now, but don't look." Each student chose on of the two cards in the others hands.

Kokuro walked over to Sonomi, "You have chosen to fight." Sonomi's first card was a 4. Kokuro flipped the fight card over, and it turned out to be a 9. "You die," he said to her. He walked over to Elda and looked at her card, it was a 7. "You have chosen to surrender." He flipped the enemy's card over and it was revealed to be a 6. "Unaware to you, this commander is unmerciful so he chooses to kill you anyway. You die." Kokuro went to the rest of the students and whether they surrendered or chose to fight, all their cards came out to be 13. They all died.

Kokuro then asked for the dead warriors to sit down by the campfire and for the commanders to form a circle. He then went to Yaku and had him reveal his opponents card. His opponents card was a 2 "The Pharaoh won his fight with little problems, he was of course the one with the greatest spell. He returned home to Egypt and waited for his other warriors to return. The only army that did was the High Priest's Army. 'My High Priest, none of the other armies have returned,' the Pharaoh had told him. The High Priest lead him to a balcony and asked him to look outside." Kokuro paused, "Yaku, what do you see around you?"

"The Commanders of the other armies," Yaku said.

"Is what the Pharaoh replied to his High Priest. 'I don't understand,' The Pharaoh said to the High Priest."

"'I told you before, to be cautious of the number 13,' the High Priest responded with an evil grin. 'Before you left 11, warriors had gone off. I had asked you what you feared the most. You told me nothing because I was there to support you. And then you left, you were the 12th. The only thing that can defeat you is that which you fear most,' the High Priest said deviously. 'The thing you fear most, is betrayal,'" With that Kokuro handed Yaku the one card Kokuro had in his hand. Yaku flipped it over to see it was a queen; Yaku's cards equaled 13. "'I was the 13th person to leave this room,' the High Priest said. The end."

Everyone just stared at Kokuro. It took a few moments for it to sink in about what had happened. The 'warriors' then looked down at the cards in their hands, all of them equaling 13. Sonomi finally spoke up, "How did you do that?" she asked.

"I didn't," he said. "It was your own choice that killed you."

"I mean with the cards, how did you set the cards?"

"You saw me shuffle them, how could I have possibly set them up? Besides, even if I did, you were the one who in the end chose which cards would decide whether or not you lived or died."

"But...But...OH COME ON!" she cried out.

Kokuro laughed and sat down next to her, "Don't tell me you're scared."

"A little freaked out maybe. But not scared. I just want to know how you set the cards."

Kokuro put up a great big smile and pulled out his Black Magician, "A true magician never reveals their secrets," he said.

"At the very least tell us who taught you that," Mia said.

"My dad actually taught it to me," Kokuro told her. "So all creative credit goes to him. Although his story has it with an Oracle who wanted to kill the king of Greece, but I switched it around to be in Egypt. Just makes it more original that way. Plus Egypt is cooler. But in the end the trick is his. Well, technically the trick is my Uncles. But my uncle taught it to my dad who taught it to me.

"Very good," Suji-Sensei said. "Now, we have time for one more story," he said. "And I think I'll tell one before we head off to sleep," he said smiling. "Are you all aware of the 4th Dormitory here on the island?" All the first years shook their heads and even some of the Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue students shook their heads too. "Well, it is not highly publicized. Due to the terrible things that haven happened there. The 4th Dorm was used for students who wanted to study the Sennen Items. Does anyone know what they are?" Everyone shook his or her heads this time. "They are rumored to be these powerful items with mystic powers. Whether you believe in that or not is up to you. They seemed to be on the verge a breakthrough of figuring out the secrets of the Sennen Items, when one day they all just mysteriously vanished. No traces of them what so ever. The entire dormitory was searched high and low, but they never found any bodies. However, there have been reports of sounds being heard from the inside the dormitory. But whenever anyone goes to check on it, they never find anything."

"Is…that it?" Kokuro asked.

"Yes," he said. "The scary thing is, it's a true story. There really is a 4th dormitory and one day they all did just vanish. We recommend that you all stay away from the 4th dorm. We won't be going near it; it's on the other side of the forest. But if you ever are out here, stay away from it." Suji-Sensei looked sad a moment. Either he was a really good actor, or he wasn't just telling some ghost story. "Well," he said looking a bit better, "Time for bed guys and girls. Have a good night and we'll scout out the rest of the area tomorrow."

Kokuro and the girls stood up and stretched. "Good night Kokuro," Mia said hugging him, "Great ghost story."

"Thanks," he said blushing a bit.

"Good night Kokuro," Sonomi said following Mia.

"Good night Sonomi," Kokuro said.

Kokuro followed Yaku towards the tent when Suji-Sensei stopped him a moment. "That was a great story," he told Kokuro. "Just thought you might like to know it scared the living daylights out of me when everyone turned up dead."

"Thanks," Kokuro said. He headed over towards the tent and pulled out a sleeping bag. He rolled it out and plopped down on top of it.

"So," Yaku said. "What do you think of my sister?"

"She's really nice," Kokuro said.

"You wouldn't believe she's 26 would you?"

"She's 26!" Kokuro shouted.

"Yup, doesn't look a day over 19 huh?"

"I figured she had to be at least in her early twenties in order to have such a high positioned job, but 26?"

"She's got that businesswoman gene in her I guess."

"I guess so," Kokuro said.

"Well, good night Kokuro, and be prepared to have your butt handed to you tomorrow."

"You wish," Kokuro said. Kokuro got inside his sleeping bag and slowly slid his deck out until he got to the Cybernetic Magician. 'It's an awesome card,' he thought to himself. 'I'm sure it will help me out a lot.' He put his deck down and slowly slipped off to sleep.


	13. Scavenger Hunt!

Sdrive: I don't own much, and this I don't own.

* * *

The students on the nature hike woke up early the next morning with thoughts set high on the scavenger hunt. They ate a quick breakfast and then Suji-Sensei and the other two teachers began the trip around the forest where they would be doing the nature hike. "During the Scavenger Hunt, you will only be allowed 3 flashlights, one per person, and your Duel Disks and Dueling Decks. But I'll explain more about the Duel Disks later on tonight." The trip took about 4 hours to get done. They broke for lunch around 12 while Suji-Sensei finished explaining some more of the minor rules.

"You will all appoint yourselves your own teams. What you will do is you will create a team name and then with your team, you will work to win the scavenger hunt. After lunch will be free time until the scavenger hunt. One of the other two teachers with us and I will be going around the forest hiding the different colored stones. Don't worry; there are enough stones for each team. Each team member must have one of each stone or else the team cannot win. The first team to get the stones to me wins."

After lunch they all went off to do whatever it was they wanted. Kokuro, Mia, and Sonomi decided to hang out by the lake and strategize. "Well," Sonomi said with her feet in the water, "I guess we were right when we guessed that there would be a type of Duel Monsters twist."

"Yeah," Kokuro said. "But I can't imagine it being you have to duel for the stone. That would take too long. Besides, there are only three teachers and one of them has to be at the campsite."

"So, then what do you think we will need our Duel Disks for?" Mia asked.

"I don't know," Kokuro said. "In any case we need to think of a team name for ourselves. I think it should probably be about something we all have in common."

"Maybe something that represents our friendship?" Mia suggested. They all looked at each other and nodded, "Team Kuriboh!" they said at the same time.

"Wait…" Kokuro said. "What about, Team Cinnamon?"

"Excuse me?" Mia asked.

"Cinnamon is what he nicknamed that Kuriboh Plushy of his."

"Team Cinnamon?" Mia said trying it out. "I like it, it sounds fun. And it still represents Kuriboh."

"What about you Sonomi?" Kokuro asked.

Sonomi looked down and then smiled, "Yeah, I like it."

"Alright!" Kokuro shouted. "Lets go tell the teacher." They walked towards the campsite again when they saw Elda and Yaku coming from it.

"What's up guys?" Yaku said.

"We're about to go give them our team name," Mia said cheerfully.

"It's too bad you guys will never beat Team XYZ Harpie Cannon."

"XYZ Harpie Cannon?" All three of them asked at the same time.

"Yup," Elda said. "We're going to blow the competition away."

"We'll see about that," Kokuro said. "Because first you have to get past Team Cinnamon!" he shouted.

"Team Cinnamon?" Yaku asked. "And you are making fun of XYZ Harpie Cannon?"

"Just you wait," Kokuro said smiling. They walked past the other two and registered their team name with Suji-Sensei. The rest of the day went by rather slowly. In fact it was so slow that Kokuro and Mia had decided to take a nap underneath a large tree. Kokuro rested his head back and let the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze drift him off to sleep. Sonomi had walked by to see that Mia's head had shifted in her sleep and was now resting on Kokuro's shoulder. She decided to ask Suji-Sensei for a camera and took a picture snickering about black mail and the like.

Finally the big event came. All the different teams were gathered together. It was 6:30 and the sun was starting to set. "Alright teams, here's how things will work. Each team will go off looking for one of the 6 colored stones. Each member must have 1 of each of the stones or the team will not win. Now, you have to be careful, while I was out there I saw some strange creatures out there. Some looked harmless and might help you but others might attack you. Now, here's the twist. If you notice one of the other teams, you can summon a monster and attack the players. If a team members' Life Points drop to 0 that team member is out and the opposing team gets all of that team members stones. At that point the other team members have to try to continue with out you. There are many other little secrets about this scavenger hunt that you will have to find out for yourself. Now turn on your Duel Disks, get out there and good luck to you."

The teams all put their decks in their Duel Disks and started going their separate ways. Kokuro made a mention that Suji-Sensei hadn't mentioned what the prize would be. "Well, I guess we'll find out when we win," Sonomi said.

"Yeah, I guess so," Kokuro said. "Anyway, he did mention creatures being out here, I'm sure that means Duel Monsters."

"My question is how are we supposed to find the stones," Mia asked.

"They are probably hidden but not hidden well enough to keep us stumped for hours," Sonomi said. "We just have to look." They walked for about 5 minutes but didn't see a thing.

"This is getting annoying," Kokuro said. "The flashlights are only so wide, we basically have to sweep the entire ground if we want too…" suddenly something jumped out at him. He felt something like a sword slash across his chest and send him to the ground. He quickly spun his flashlight around to see a decaying zombie in armor carrying a rusty sword. Kokuro watched to see that his Life Points were falling (6500). "This must be the one of the creatures he was talking about."

"How are we supposed to get past them?" Sonomi asked.

"Like this," Mia said pulling a card from her deck and placing it on the field. Suddenly Silent Swordsman Lv. 5 appeared on the field. (2300/1000) "That thing is nothing but a weak little Armored Zombie. (1500/0) "It's no match for my Silent Swordsman. Attack my swordsman!" The swordsman swung its sword at the Zombie destroying it.

Kokuro stood up, "Wow, that was impressive," he said. "But how did you know that was what you needed to do?"

"Because I played the Kaiba Corp. VR game," she said. "This is just like it. You go around on little quests and as monsters come to attack you, you summon other monsters to attack them back. If this is like that, we can also play traps right from our hands."

"Cool," Kokuro said. He looked down at his Life Points and noticed they hadn't changed. "Hey, wait a second, does this mean that even if the wild monsters attack my Life Points and we defeat them, they will stay down?"

"Unfortunately yes," Mia said. "Come on, we have to get going before," she heard a faint noise and pushed Kokuro out of the way as she was struck by an Arrow.

"Mia!" Kokuro called out as he saw her Life Points go down. (6600) He looked up to see an Amazon Archer standing there pulling back a bow string with another arrow already in place. She shot another arrow at Mia and Kokuro quickly pulled a card from his deck and looked down at it. He slid it into his Spell and Trap Slots causing the Magic Cylinders to appear. The arrow went into one of the cylinders and came out the other striking the Amazon in her chest destroying her instantly. Kokuro ran to Mia and helped her up. The arrow disappeared but she was still a little woozy. She collapsed into Kokuro trying to keep her balance. Kokuro held her up and allowed her to steady herself. "Are you ok?"

"I'll be fine," she said. "Listen, we should probably take the time to set our Duel Disks now," she said. "We can take traps from our deck and place them in our Duel Disks allowing us easier access to cards we might need." Just then a whole bunch of Amazon Archers came from being hidden in the bushes and trees and started pulling back their arrows.

We won't have _any _time to set our Duel Disks up if these Amazons blast away all our Life Points!" Kokuro shouted.

The Amazons released their bows and the arrows all started flying towards them. Suddenly a swirling vortex appeared around Kokuro, Sonomi and Mia as Sonomi began to yell, "Negate Attack won't hold them forever!"

"I'll finish it up," Kokuro said as he got two cards from his deck. "Black Magician and Black Magician Girl take care of these Amazons!" he shouted as his two magicians appeared on the field and started blasting away at the archers. (2500/2100), (2000/1700) The swirling vortex began to die down but the arrows were still coming. They started hitting the ground next to the three friends barely missing them. "My magicians can't defeat them all on their own," he said worried.

"I'll do it then," Mia said as she grabbed a card from her deck. "Go Armed Dragon LV7! She called out as her large armored dragon rose up into the line of fire. (2800/1000) The arrows that hit the dragon simply bounced off its armor and left it unharmed. "Nice try," she said to them. "Armed Dragon, wipe them all out!" The Buzz Saws on Armed Dragon's chest plate began to spin and flung out towards all the Amazons destroying them instantly. The Black Magician and Black Magician Girl finished off the last two Amazons on their side. Once all the Amazons had been defeated the monsters vanished."

Kokuro, Sonomi and Mia then took a few minutes to set their Duel Disks and put monsters that they thought would serve them best on top of their decks. Mia also explained how they would be able to summon monsters without having to make sacrifices and how they should be wary of hidden Traps that might be on the field.

Once they were finally ready they began their trek again. "Although it might have seemed like a waste of time, in the end it's one of the best ways to ensure victory," Mia said. "Most people will be attacked and it will take them a while before they realize that they can load their Duel Disks. And if they get randomly attacked they'll have to search their decks for a way to stop the attacker while we will just have to activate cards to save us. We may start off slow but in the end we will be faster than the rest."

They continued to walk around some more scanning with the flashlights when suddenly they heard the cry of a Kuriboh. They looked around and spotted a Kuriboh right in front of them. It pointed to its left and when they looked they saw a pile of red colored stones. "Thank you Kuriboh," Kokuro said. Kuriboh gave out a cry of happiness before vanishing. Sonomi walked over to the stones when suddenly the ground gave out beneath her. Mia and Kokuro rushed over to grab her before she fell in. They lifted her up and out of the hole.

"I guess that was a Trap Hole," she said panting. She carefully walked around it and took three of the stones and tossed two of them to Kokuro and Mia. As soon as all three had some a large cage with metal spikes on the outside appeared around them. "Nightmare Steal Cage!" she shouted.

Suddenly from the other side of the cage a Spirit Reaper appeared on the field. It ran up towards Kokuro and slashed his leg causing his Life Points to drop. (6200) "Oh yeah?" He asked pulling the top card of his deck. "Go Black Magician!" he called out as his mighty magician appeared on the field once more. (2500/2100) "Black Magic Attack!" Kokuro called out. The Magician blasted magic out at the spirit reaper but the reaper used its sharp scythe to block the attack. "What?"

"Spirit Reaper can't be destroyed remember?" Sonomi yelled at him.

"Oh crap," he said as it went towards Sonomi. "Sonomi!" he shouted out.

Suddenly a blast from somewhere else came out of nowhere and hit the Spirit Reaper knocking it into the other side of cage. They turned to see Yaku standing there with his X Head Cannon. "You're up Elda," he said.

She slid a card into her field slot and then summoned a Harpie Lady (1300/1400). The Harpie Lady appeared and jumped up destroying the cage they were trapped in with her claws. Meanwhile Kokuro had taken a card from his deck. "Old Vindictive Magician," he said placing the monster on the field. "Activate effect!" The magician let loose a blast of red magic that hit the Spirit Reaper destroying it. Kokuro let out a breath of relief. He turned to Yaku, "Thanks…" he didn't get to finish.

"Attack!" Yaku called out. X Head Cannon fired a round at Kokuro. It was about to hit until Sonomi interfered.

"Negate Attack!" She called out as the swirling vortex appeared and protected Kokuro.

"So you have your disks already set huh?" Elda asked. "Do it Little Bro."

Yaku nodded, "Come out Android Psycho Shocker!" (2400/1500) The large machine monster suddenly appeared on the field and let out brain waves paralyzing the cards in Kokuro's, Sonomi's, and Mia's Duel Disks."

"Looks like you guys are out of luck," Elda said.

"Android Psycho Shocker, attack Sonomi!" The Machine brought a ball of black electricity together in its hands and shot it out at Sonomi.

"Good thing I prepared for the worst!" Kokuro said as his Sleepy Sheep appeared on the field. One of them appeared in front of Sonomi and it protected her from the blast of the Android.

"And good thing Harpies can fly," Elda said as her Harpie Lady flew up over the sheep and scratched slashed Sonomi across the chest causing her Life Points to fall. (6500)

"If it's Cybernetic you want to go," Kokuro said pulling a card from his deck, "I'm more than happy to go that way with Cybernetic Magician!" The futuristic mage appeared on the field and stared down the Android. (2400/1000) "Use your ability to weaken Android Psycho Shocker!" Kokuro called out. The magician's staff began to glow and Android Psycho Shocker weakened.

"Go Silent Magician Lv. 8!" Mia called out as the beautiful magician appeared on the field. "Get rid of that machine!" The magician let loose a stream of white magic that collided with Android Psycho Shocker and destroyed it. Yaku growled as his Life Points went down. (6500)

"Go Harpie Lady, attack Mia!" Elda commanded.

"You wish," Mia said as her Shadow Spell's chains

"You forget that we are on a hunting ground," Elda said as she summoned Cyber Harpie.

"Dust Tornado," Kokuro called out as a large tornado appeared on the field and cleared the area of the hunting ground. "Oh, and I thought of a cool move," Kokuro said. "Cybernetic Magician, increase the attack of all my sheep!" The Cybernetic Magician began to glow and all the sheep did as well, they all powered up to 2000. "Sheep 1, attack Cyber Harpie, Sheep Two, destroy the one on the ground! Sheep Three, attack X Head Cannon!"

The three sheep went after their targets. The Cyber Harpie quickly flew away avoiding being destroyed; the Harpie on the ground wasn't so lucky. It was trampled by the sheep making Elda angry. (6600) The Last Sheep went after Yaku's X Head Cannon.

"Not so fast," Yaku said. "Come forth Y Dragon Head and then Formation Union!" The mechanical red dragon appeared on the field and connected to X Head Cannon, (2200/1500)

"I'll Shadow Spell your X Head Cannon!" Kokuro called out as the black chains rapped around the X Head Cannon weakening it out. (1500/1500)

"And I'll Rare Metalmorph it!" Yaku said. The machines became shiner and raised the attack power. (2000/1500) In the end both the sheep and the machines were destroyed.

"Cyber Harpie, here's some good fashion," Elda said giving it a Cyber Shield spell card. "And here's a friend, Harpie Lady 1" The new Harpie appeared on the field and caused a slight breeze to go through the area, powering up Cyber Harpie. "Cyber Harpie, go kick that Cybernetic Magicians butt!"

"Zero Gravity!" Mia called out suddenly as all monsters instantly switched to a defensive stance. "Listen, we aren't going to get anywhere if we keep fighting like this."

"Mia is right," Kokuro said. "There's two ways this will work. No, three ways. The first is we continue fighting and end up destroying both teams' chances. Two, we leave now with an agreement to not shoot each other before we are clearly far away. Or three, we draw the attention of stones to other groups and in turn bring them into this…" An ugly bug with a long sword suddenly hit him. (4300)

Everyone turned to see that three other students were now standing not to far away from them and one had an Insect Knight. (1900/1500) "Well, I'm sorry to say this, but it looks like you all are going to have to look out for my buggy little friend here."

"Oh won't we?" Sonomi asked stepping up in front of Kokuro. "Well try this on for size," she said as she summoned Infernal Flame Emperor to the field. Everyone just stared in awe, as the mighty Fire Sphinx appeared looking ticked off. (2700/1600) "Go and attack that bug!" she commanded as the flaming sphinx blasted out fire from its mouth incinerating the helpless bug. "Lets run!" she shouted to the other two.

They began to take off but Yaku shouted at them, "Oh no you don't! I summon Machine King!" The Machine King appeared on the field. (2200/2000)"Limiter Removal!" He called out. Machine King started sparking and its power rose. (4600/2000) "Go destroy Kokuro!" he called out as the Machine Kings arm shot towards Kokuro.

Kokuro spun around and revealed a trap, "Magic Cylinder!" he called out. The Cylinders appeared on the field and the arm went through one and then came out the other. Kokuro turned back around and continued to run.

Yaku placed Z Metal Caterpillar on guard in front of Machine King. It took the blast for Machine King but then Machine King blew up due to Limiter Removal. Yaku let out a small growl.

Off away from the ensuing battle the trio stopped to catch their breath. Kokuro looked down at his Life Points. "I'm pretty low," he said. He took his Sleepy Sheep Spell out and reinserted it causing 4 new sheep to appear. He then flipped through his deck until he came upon a card and placed it on the reader. White Magician Pikeru appeared on the field. It started to glow and then gave Kokuro an orb of light. (6300) He took Pikeru off the reader and she disappeared waving. Mia looked at her score, (6600) and Sonomi checked hers (6500). "Well, as long as I can keep strengthening my Life Points, I don't think I'll be in too much trouble," Kokuro said.

They all retracted the cards from their disks and shuffled them together. They went through the traps and reloaded their disks. "Good as new," Mia said.

"Hey Sonomi, why did you wait so long to make a move back there?"

"Well, you two were battling it out with Yaku and Elda I figured that I would play defense and keep you guys safe if needed. But you all seemed to be taking each other out without much need of any help that I didn't worry about it." They all heard what sounded like growling and turned to see a Luster Dragon #2 attack them with its hot fire. All three of them were hit and knocked to the ground. Kokuro: (3900), Mia: (4200), Sonomi: (4100)

Kokuro pulled the top card of his deck, "Black Magician attack that Dragon!" The Black Magician let loose a blast of magic that blasted the dragon destroying it.

Suddenly 3 spear dragons appeared around them and all aimed for them. They let loose an attack when Sonomi called out, "Negate Attack!" A swirling vortex stopped all the three swirling blasts of wind that the Spear Dragons had formed. "Now I bring forth the Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys, Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch, and Infernal Flame Emperor!" All of Sonomi's monsters appeared on the field and glared down at the three Spear Dragons. "Attack!" she called out. All three monsters attacked a different Spear Dragon destroying them. Sonomi called back her monsters and gave the other two a thumb up.

"What brave warriors you all are," a woman said from behind them. They turned to see a black angel with white wings wearing slightly ragged clothes. "I can see that you deserve the great treasure," she said. "It's right over there," she pointed to a small bush.

"Um…thank you?" Kokuro said.

"Thank you for defeating the dragons that was after me. In turn, I shall give you each 200 Life Points." She blew some sparkling glitter at the trio and their Life Points increased. Kokuro: (4100) Mia: (4400) Sonomi: (4300) After she was done she disappeared. The trio looked at each other and then went over to the bush she had pointed at. Behind the bush was the next pile of colored stones.

"Alright!" Mia said as she picked up three stones and handed two to the others. "Now we just need 4 more," she said.

"But they could be anywhere," Sonomi said. "And I'm sure it was just luck that brought us to this one."

"True," Kokuro said shuffling through his deck and taking a card. He placed a card on the field and his Spear Dragon appeared. "Spear Dragon, go find the next stone!" The spear dragon flew off and started circling the area around them. "If we use our monsters to find the stones, it might get us ahead of the game."

"Do you really think that will work," Mia asked. Suddenly they heard the sound of Life Points being decreased. Kokuro looked down at his duel disk. (3800)

"I guess not," he said. "There must be a 2200 attack point monster out there somewhere. Well, in any case lets get going," he said. They started hiking around being wary of traps. "You know, I sure wish we had…" Instantly they all fell into a Trap Hole. "Android Psycho Shocker," he finished. Sonomi got on Kokuro's shoulders, and Mia got on Sonomi's and together they got each other out of the pit. "You know," he said to Sonomi. "When we first met I might have minded if you stepped all over me." They all chuckled and then started looking through the forest again. They spent 10 minutes going forward but didn't come across anything. "I wonder where it is," Kokuro wondered out loud. Suddenly they all heard a rustling to the left of them.

"What was that?" Mia asked.

"Another monster probably," Sonomi said reading her Duel Disk.

Suddenly a figure fell out of the bushes. He seemed to be wearing all black and seemed to have a black Duel Disk on his arm. He looked to his right and saw the trio standing there. He gasped and stood up, "What are you kids doing here?" he asked them.

Something about this man triggered something that Kokuro didn't like. "We're here on the nature hike, what are _you _doing out here?"

"The nature hike doesn't go out this far," he said. "You've gone too far. Turn back immediately."

"Where did you get a black Duel Disk?" Mia asked.

"It's a custom made disk, now please leave or I will be forced to report you kids to the higher ups."

"What are you doing out here? I'll ask again," Kokuro said, a bit firmer in his voice this time.

"I'm here to make sure you don't go too far," he said. "I was wearing black in the hopes that I wouldn't be spotted. If you kids had gone to far I would have summoned a monster that you wouldn't have been able to beat to chase you off. But you've discovered me so I'm going to let you keep your Life Points."

"I'd like to see this monster I can't beat," Kokuro said walking up to him.

"No, get out of here or you will be disqualified," the man said.

"Come on Kokuro, lets just go," Mia said pulling at his shoulder, but he forced himself away from her and walked closer to the man."

"Let me see the monster I can't beat," Kokuro said again getting angry.

"You want to truly see it?" he asked. "Fine," The man inserted a deck into his Duel Disk and it folded out. "I summon the Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth!" he said as suddenly a huge moth appeared on the field. (3500/3000) "Beat this!" he said.

"I will," Kokuro said drawing two cards from his deck. He took the second card and placed it on the field. "Cybernetic Magician," he said as his futuristic mage appeared on the field. (2400/1000) "Cybernetic Magician, show him your special ability." The Magician's staff began to glow and so did the Moth. The Moth began to shrink as its attack power decreased. (2000/3000) "Cybernetic Magician, destroy that moth!" The Cybernetic Magician let out its silver magic and destroyed the so called Ultimate Great Moth. "Anything else 'I can't beat?'" he asked mockingly.

The man looked nervous, "Where did you get a card like that?" he practically screamed.

"I earned it," he said.

The man backed away, "Listen kids, just go back to your designated area," and with that he turned around and ran off. Kokuro started to chase him with Mia and Sonomi right on his trail. Kokuro stopped when he realized he couldn't see the man any longer. He clenched his fists, "damn, he got away."

"What was that all about?" Sonomi asked.

"I don't think that guy was who he claimed to be," he said a little angered. "Come on, we need to go back and tell Suji-Sensei."

"What about the scavenger hunt?" Mia asked.

"There isn't any time for that," Kokuro said. "I think this is more important," he said. He began running and the other two quickly followed. They were running for about 3 minutes when suddenly they heard a blast from a canon. Kokuro was knocked backwards as Sonomi and Mia were running towards him. They all tried to stop but ended up crashing into one another. Kokuro's Life Points began to drop. (2000)

They stood up to see Yaku and Elda standing in front of them. "I was wondering where you guys had gone," Yaku said.

"Yaku, you need to let us through, we have to see Suji-Sensei!" Kokuro exclaimed.

"Yeah right," Elda said. "What do you take us for? Stupid? You just want to get by because you probably collected all the stones. Well so did we, and we aren't going to settle for a race. We'll deplete your Life Points so that we don't have to worry about you getting there before we do."

"No, I'm being serious," Kokuro said. "We saw someone out here while we were looking and I think he's an intruder."

"Wow, anything to get past us?" Yaku said. "I have to give you credit Kokuro, you have a good imagination. Unfortunately I wasn't born yesterday. We are on an Island; the only way to get here is bye boat. There is only one docking station and every boat must check in and if they refuse they are sent off. So there is no possible way that an intruder is here on the island."

"I still don't like it," Kokuro said. "I feel as though Suji-Sensei should be warned."

"You aren't getting past us Kokuro," Elda said.

Kokuro reached into his jacket and tossed his two stones at them, "There, now do you see how serious I am. First off I don't even have all 6, and second, I'm freely giving you mine so that you will let me pass!"

"Sorry Kokuro," Yaku said. "But if you want me to let you pass, I have to deplete your Life Points so that I know this isn't some sort of trick.

"Fine!" Kokuro said. He took all the cards out of his Spell Trap card slots and slid them into the Graveyard. "Take your best shot!" he said spreading his arms. "Don't miss!" he mocked.

Yaku looked uncertain for a moment. "You really aren't joking are you?"

"Of course he's not," Sonomi said angrily. "Didn't you get that when he threw his stones down? For an Obelisk Blue Student you can be kind of stupid sometimes!"

"Is that what I get for being so kind when you were a lowly Osiris Red?" he asked angrily. "When I helped you study, when I helped you become what you are today?"

"Guys stop fighting!" Mia shouted. "We need to get to Suji-Sensei!"

Yaku growled angrily and slapped a card onto the reader. "XYZ Dragon Cannon, attack Kokuro!" The Dragon Cannon powered up its cannon and blasted out.

"Negate…" Sonomi began.

"DON'T!" Kokuro yelled back at her. He took the blast head on, sending him flying backwards into Sonomi and Mia again. (0) He stood up and then helped the other two girls up. "Sorry about that," he said. He then began running again when Yaku yelled back at him. "Just where are you going?"

"To warn Suji-Sensei," he shouted back as he took off.

"I don't see why you care," Sonomi yelled at Yaku. "You finished off his Life Points, after he already made it clear that he wasn't playing any longer. But I still am, and I'm going to make you pay!" She took the top 3 cards off her Duel Disk, "Thestalos, Sacred Phoenix, Flame Emperor, come forth!" Suddenly Sonomi's monsters appeared on the field looking down at Yaku. "Mia, go help Kokuro," she said.

"Right," Mia said running off.

"Hold it!" Elda said trying to stop Mia. Mia simply took her two stones and tossed them backwards so that Elda could easily see that she wasn't playing any longer either. Not wanting to upset Mia, Elda let her pass.

"I can see you want to play difficult," Yaku said smiling. He drew the top cards off his deck and played them on the field, "Fusilier, Machine King, Android Psycho Shocker!" All of his monsters appeared on the field and the two stared each other down. "Attack!" they both called out.

Meanwhile Kokuro had just reached Suji-Sensei. "Suji-Sensei!" he called out.

"What is it Mr. Samé?" Suji-Sensei asked nervously.

Kokuro stopped to catch his breath before continuing. "Sonomi, Mia, and I were looking for some stones when we saw this guy dressed all in black. He had a black Duel Disk and everything. He said that he was part of the staff keeping us from going beyond a certain point. I didn't believe him so I led him to a challenge. When he lost he ran off into the woods."

"The only people out here are Notuko-Sensei and Okotun-Sensei," Suji-Sensei said. "I'll alert the main office right away," he said. Once he had alerted them he turned to Kokuro. "Thank you." He then noticed Kokuro's Duel Disk. "I see you lost."

"Only because Yaku didn't believe me when I told him what happened and the only way he would allow me to leave was if he depleted my Life Points."

"That's not right," Suji-Sensei said. Just then Mia ran up to the two of them. "And what are you doing here?"

"Sonomi told me to come help you while she took care of Yaku," Mia explained in between breaths.

"Mia, do you have any kind of reviving card?" Suji-Sensei asked.

"I have my Premature Burial in my slot," she said.

"Then you two are in luck," he said to them. "A rule that no one else knows that they usually have to figure out themselves is that if anyone has a reviving card they can use it on a partner that has lost to give the partner an 'extra-life' kind of thing. That's if you don't mind losing 800 Life Points."

"For Kokuro? Are you kidding?" she asked as she activated the card. Her Life Points dropped as Kokuro's Life Points rose. Mia: (3600), Kokuro: (8000)

"Why do I have all 8000?" Kokuro asked.

"Think of it this way," Suji-Sensei said. "If a monster attacks a Slate Warrior then it loses 500 attack points. If it gets destroyed and later revived it comes back with those 500 attack points back, once it goes to the graveyard the effect ends. So since Kokuro 'went to the graveyard' and was brought back, he was brought back with everything. But be warned, if someone uses a Heavy Storm, or something that will destroy the Premature Burial, his Life Points will go back down to 0 and after that you won't be able to bring him back with Premature Burial. It's a one-time thing."

"What if I used a Call of the Haunted?"

"That would work once as well." He said.

"Excellent," she said. "Lets go Kokuro!"

He nodded, "Yes. Thanks Suji-Sensei." They took off running back into the forest.

"You're welcome," he called back. His face then turned sullen. "The other two teachers and I are going to have to keep an eye out for that man while we travel tomorrow. Just incase Master Kaiba's men can't find him."

As Kokuro and Mia were running through the forest they were stopped by two kids who seemed to be in a hurry. "Hey, lets get those two," one of the kids said. "Maybe then we will have the last two stones we need."

Kokuro stopped and slid his deck back in. He took t four cards from it and then placed them on the field. Black Magician and Buster Blader appeared on the field and then formed into Black Paladin. Kokuro's Life Points dropped to 7000 and Black Paladin attacked both of the other kids at the same time with Diffusion-Wave Motion. 30 seconds later Kokuro and Mia were running again with 4 stones in their hands each.

"Nice job back there," Mia said to him as they were running.

"I'm sure you could have handled them just as easily," Kokuro said running. "But I wanted to rush back and help Sonomi." Mia smiled at Kokuro before she turned back around.

Meanwhile Sonomi wasn't fairing too well and could have used their help. She had tried to use Gravity Bind to stop Yaku's monsters but XYZ Dragon Cannon just blasted it away. When she strengthened her monsters Yaku just used Limiter Removal to make easy clearings. His monsters would get destroyed and she would get a shot off quickly but he normally summoned something with a higher defense to block the attack. Currently she had a Solar Flare Dragon on the field while Yaku had formed another XYZ Dragon Cannon and had equipped it with Rare Metal Morph.

"Attack her monster!" Yaku called out.

"I use my other Gravity Bind!" Sonomi called out.

"When will you learn? XYZ Dragon Cannon blast it away!" The dragon cannon blasted the trap away and then he commanded it to strike her monster again.

"Balloon Lizard Defend!" she called out as she slapped the card on the field. The Balloon Lizard appeared and bounced towards the Solar Flare Dragon protecting it. "Now my Solar Flare Dragon will take another 500 Life Points from you!" she called out as the dragon formed a fireball to blast at him.

"My Sealing Swords of Light say differently!" Yaku said as his swords appeared on the field and froze the dragon in mid attack."

"And my Curse Of Darkness says you lose some Life Points!" Sonomi said as the lightning appeared around him. The lightning stuck him causing them to drop. (3200)

"No matter, I'll still over come you."

"Go ahead and try!" Sonomi shouted back. "As you can see you are no match against me when you don't have your sister to hide behind!"

"Oh yeah?" Elda yelled at her. Suddenly Elda was hit by something from behind causing her to topple over. (0) "What was that all about?" she yelled. "Who did that?" Yaku, Sonomi, and Elda looked behind them to see a Silent Magician Level 8, a Silent Swordsman Lv. 7, a Cybernetic Magician, a Black Magician, and a Black Magician Girl, all of them looking slightly annoyed. Behind them were Mia and Kokuro.

"What's up doc's?" Kokuro asked.

"Hey guys!" Mia said smiling and holding up a peace sign.

"What are you doing here?" Yaku shouted to Kokuro.

"While we were gone we learned a little rule about the game and decided to exploit that rule."

Mia turned to Kokuro, "It's a good thing that even though Silent Swordsman is on the field, Premature Burial is only negated and due to the rulings you get to stay on the field."

"Yeah it is," he said. "And even if they do destroy it, I don't have to worry about being tied to that card as long as Silent Swordsman is on the field."

"You mean you can revive your team mates?" Elda asked stunned.

"Well then I plan on reviving my sister," Yaku said playing his Premature Burial. The Silent Swordsman shook his head and slashed his sword at the Premature Burial causing a wave of energy to hit it negating the card.

"Sorry, but my Silent Swordsman won't allow your card to work right now," Mia said. "Kokuro's Premature Burial was activated before he came on the field.

"Oh man," Yaku said. Suddenly a blast of fire hit him. He looked to see the Solar Flare Dragon no longer paralyzed by the swords. "I thought you said you had to go see Suji-Sensei!" he yelled at Kokuro.

"I did," he said. "And then he told Mia and me about the reviving rule."

"And now it's time to take you out," Mia said. "Silent Magician, Silent Swordsman…"

"Black Magician, Black Magician Girl, Cybernetic Magician…" Kokuro said afterwards.

"Attack the player!" they shouted at the same time. All of their monsters ran forward and sent Yaku flying backwards as his Life Points were depleted. (0)

Kokuro and Mia returned their monsters and then ran down to where they had tossed their stones. They picked them up and then examined them with the other 4 they had won from the other two kids. They each had 1 red, 1, blue, 1 yellow, 1 green, 1, white, and 1 black. Kokuro looked down at Yaku and had seen that his stones had fallen out of his pocket. He picked them up and tossed them to Sonomi who caught them.

"Thanks," she said.

"Any time," he said. She got up and ran over to her two friends. "So what did Suji-Sensei say?"

"The only ones supposed to be out here are the other two teachers," Kokuro explained. "Meaning that man wasn't part of the Nature Hike staff. He contacted the administration and they are going to take care of it."

"Good," Sonomi said. "We don't need any freaks that hang out with large moths to bother us."

"Come on!" Mia yelled at the other two. "We still have a chance to win!"

"Always with the fun stuff," Sonomi said smiling at her friend.

"The serious stuff is over," she said pushing them towards the direction of the campsite. "Lets hurry before anyone else gets there before us!"

"Right," Kokuro said. They started to head off towards the campsite when Yaku called out to them.

"Hey Sonomi," he said.

She turned around, "yeah?"

"It was great re-living the past!"

"Yeah, it was, we should do it again sometime, see ya!" She turned to see two very confused friends and chuckled. "Back when he was a Ra Yellow and I was an Osiris Red, we used to pretend to hate each other and we insulted each others class ranks. When I insulted him when we first saw him by saying, 'For an Obelisk Blue Student you can be kind of stupid sometimes,' it was the standard opening line that would start off our fights. That way he knew to go along with it. I just didn't realize it would get this much of a reaction."

Mia and Kokuro looked dumbfounded, "So you don't really hate him?" Kokuro asked.

"Of course not, and he doesn't really hate me," she said. "Needless to say we kind of stopped that whole ritual as I was getting stronger, but every now and then we like to bust each other up."

"Sonomi has a humorous side," Kokuro said, "go figure."

"Oh shut up," Sonomi said as she began to run towards the campsite.

"Kokuro," Yaku called out to him.

Kokuro turned around, "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you."

"No sweat man," Kokuro said giving a thumb up. "I just wanted to give the teachers a heads up so that they could catch him before he got to far ahead. But now I have a competition to win!" he shouted as he ran off with the other two. He caught up to them and raced with them to get back to the campsite. As they came into the clearing they saw two other students coming from the opposite side running towards Suji-Sensei.

"We're too far behind!" Mia shouted. "We won't make it."

"Oh yes we will," Kokuro said taking the top card off his deck and placing it on the field. "Black Magician Girl!" he called out as the Black Magician Girl levitating in front of them. "Attack those other two students!" She nodded and flew towards the students.

Suji-Sensei was looking in the direction of the others students. "It looks like we have some winners," he said. "I feel bad those other kids didn't…" a pink ball of magic passed by him and he watched as it hit the two students that were coming his way. They were knocked backwards and their Life Points dropped to 0.

He turned in the direction of the energy blast to see a fading Black Magician Girl and the trio of friends making their way down towards him. They stopped in front of him and quickly handed them their stones. "Well, I guess we really _do _have some winners now," he said looking at the three exhausted friends.

"We won?" Mia asked.

"Yes you did," Suji-Sensei said.

The three cheered and hugged each other in excitement. "Team Cinnamon Wins!" they yelled out together. At that moment as they were cheering they all heard the sound of Kuriboh. They let go and Kokuro took off the top card of his deck, as did Sonomi. Each of them was holding Kuriboh. They smiled, "Ah what the heck," Kokuro said summoning his Kuriboh, as did Sonomi. The Two Kuriboh's appeared on the field and started doing a little dance as the three laughed.

"Wow, I guess you three are going to be surprised when you see the prize then," Suji-Sensei said as he took three cards from his pocket and handed it to them.

They all stopped cheering and stood in awe as they saw what cards they had just been handed. Each one now held a brand new Hane Kuriboh in their hands. They sort of stared at each other and then down at the cards. "Ok, this is kind of freaky now," Mia said.

"You think?" Sonomi asked.

Kokuro looked down at his brand new Hane Kuriboh, and then his friends, "You know what, I think it's cool," he said as he summoned his new Hane Kuriboh. The new kind of Kuriboh appeared on the field and let out a cry.

"It's so cute," Mia squealed. She summoned hers and it appeared also letting out a cry. Hers did a little dance around her causing her to laugh. "Isn't it cute Kokuro?"

"Yeah," he said as his went to play with the other Kuriboh. "You know what else? I think we were destined to win this scavenger hunt," he said.

Sonomi looked at him a little funny, "You believe in destiny?"

"A little, yeah," he said. "Something as weird as this, I think it has a little to do with destiny."

"Destiny huh?" she asked. "To be honest I never thought much of it."

Kokuro shrugged, "Not everyone does. What about you Mia?"

"I read horoscopes and I went to a fortune teller once, does that count?" she asked smiling innocently.

"Close enough for me," Kokuro said laughing.

"Well, I guess there is nothing else to do but wait for the rest of the students to get back," Suji-Sensei said. "Feel free to go to bed if you are getting tired," he said.

"Thank you Suji-Sensei," they said.

"Oh, and by the way, the administrators are on the look out for that intruder. As soon as I know anything I'll let you know. I feel you deserve to know."

"Thank you Suji-Sensei," they said again. With that they turned off their duel disks watched the Kuriboh's give out one last cry before they vanished. The trio then went towards the directions of their tents, "Well, I must say I'm exhausted," Kokuro said stretching.

"We all are," Sonomi said. "That whole scavenger hunt was hard."

"Who do you think that stranger was?" Mia asked. "And why do you think he was out there?"

"I don't know," Kokuro said. "But I'm sure Master Kaiba's security guards will catch him."

"You're right," she said smiling. "Well, good night Kokuro." She gave him a quick hug and said good night before she went into the tent.

Kokuro's face was blushing a bit but then he saw Sonomi and it got even redder, this time with embarrassment. "Um, well, I guess I'll be going to bed now," he said.

"Oh chill out," she said staring at him. "Honestly, you can be a bit stupid sometimes."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked getting defensive.

"It was just a friendly hug, no reason for you to get so worked up about it."

"I know that," he said a bit stubbornly.

"Oh, then why were you blushing?" she asked smiling a bit mischievously.

"Um...well," he started.

"See? You do this every time someone hugs you. You have to understand, Mia is a caring girl, and she likes to make people feel good, but it was just a friendly hug. I'm surprised you couldn't see that."

"I don't know a lot about that kind of stuff," he admitted.

"I can't see why. It's not like you're really bad looking or anything. Don't you have a girlfriend?"

"No," he said looking down. "I only have 2 friends back where I'm from."

"What?" she asked surprised. "Only two friends?"

"Yeah, and both of them are boys. I'm not very popular at school. I have acquaintances that I hang out with at the card shop I go to, but I only have 2 real friends."

"How come?" she asked.

He shrugged, "People just don't like me. I was kind of annoying and loud when I was much younger. I had an overly large imagination and I guess I kind of made a fool of myself. I got it calmed down since then, but all those jerks at school still picked on me for it. In some ways, they never grew up to see past it. My two friends and I sort of think on the same wavelength, so we became real good friends soon after meeting each other. But other than them, I don't have any."

Sonomi just stared at Kokuro, sadness clearly present on her face. "I'm so sorry," she said. "There wasn't even a single sign of it when you first came here. I hated you because of Professor Hikari, but after all that, it just seemed like you were a regular every day kid with not a care in the world."

"After all that I had a new friend," he said looking at her.

She looked down, "You hide your emotions so well," she said. "I just let mine take over my life."

"You're wrong," he said. "I don't hide my emotions. Like I said, I have an overly large imagination. Because of that I'm usually always happy. It gives me a different outlook on things, and allows me to feel good about myself. So I'm not hiding my emotions, I'm just not letting the sad ones bother me. Besides, I'm out of school now, they can't bother me, and so far I've made a lot of really cool friends. But, now I guess you do know why I got so flustered."

"Well, I guess it's also kind of hard when you have a crush on someone," she said.

"Huh?"

"I can tell you like her. I can't really see how anyone couldn't. She's fun, cute, always cheerful, it's hard not to like her."

"Do you like her..."

"I'm not like that. I just like her as a friend."

"Just checking," he said. They were silent a moment and then he remembered something, "It's getting late. We are going to wake up early tomorrow so I better get to bed. Good night Sonomi." He began to walk to his tent when Sonomi stopped him.

"Kokuro."

"Yes?" he asked turning back to her.

"I just wanted to say, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be talking as though I know the difference between a friendly hug and a meaningful one."

"What do you mean?"

"It's just that, although my reasons are different, I didn't have a lot of friends when I was younger either," she said, a tear forming in her eye.

"Hey, why are you crying?" he asked walking up to her.

"I'm not crying!" she retaliated. She then noticed the tear on her cheek, "I'm sorry," she said softly.

"It's alright," he said putting his hand on her shoulder. "Is it something you want to talk about?"

She shook her head, "I don't like to talk about it," she said.

"I understand. It took me a long time before I felt comfortable talking about my past."

"I just wanted you to know that. I've felt Mia's friendly hug before, so that's the only way I know. I just don't want to sound like a know it all."

"Sonomi," he said quietly.

She wiped the tear from her cheek and stared at him, "To be honest, you are the first real boy friend I've had."

"And like I already told you, you two are the first two girl friends I've really had."

Sonomi chuckled, "That sounded wrong," she said smiling a little.

"I'm glad I could make you laugh," he said smiling. They hugged each other for a few seconds and then separated to go off to their own tents.

"Thank you Kokuro," she said.

"You're welcome," he said as he walked into her tent. He wasn't an expert on hugs, but he felt as though that one wasn't just a regular friendly hug.


	14. Final Countdown to the Beach

Sdrive: I own the world, but it doesn't get me Yugioh. Oh wait, because I don't own the world, which explains it huh? Well if it doesn't then let me try an analogy. If I eat pudding today, but not tomorrow, and I didn't have any yesterday either, then me not owning it is like the Root Canal I will be having with the hippo's Friday. ? Ok, so I can't be humorous all the time. Oh, and I can't really braid hair or get a seashell to stay in hair either, but you'll understand what I mean about all this later.

* * *

The moon was still shining brightly on the campers the next morning though the sky was starting to lighten. Kokuro felt a nudging on his shoulder and groggily opened his eyes to see Mia standing over him. "YAHHHH!" he shouted jumping up and banging his head on one of the bars on the tent.

Mia looked a little sad, "I didn't want you to get hurt," she said kneeling down so that she was eye level with him.

"What are you doing? This is the boys side, which translates into no girls allowed."

"I didn't know you were sexist," Sonomi said coming into the tent.

"I'M NOT!" he screamed. "But at least in the dorm I'm _expecting _a girl to possibly be looking me in the face! Out here you aren't supposed to be waking me up!"

"Kokuro doesn't like me!" Mia said feigning crying.

"Oh come on! Give me the benefit of me being right!"

"You do like me?" she asked childishly, adding a fake sob to add to the drama.

"Of course I do, you know I do, now knock it off."

"Yay!" she squealed as she threw her arms around him causing them both to fall on the floor in an interesting position. Kokuro began blushing a bright red while Sonomi called out to borrow Suji-sensei's camera again.

"Knock it off Sonomi!" Kokuro yelled at her.

Suji-Sensei came to see what was going on and when he did he gave a good hearty laugh, "I'll leave you kids alone," he said tossing his camera to Sonomi.

Sonomi gained a look in her eyes that was the cross of mischief and just plain evil, "black mail is best served hot."

Yaku walked over and capped the camera as Sonomi tried to take a picture, "Lets not embarrass them," he said chuckling as Mia got off of Kokuro blushing a bit herself.

"So, what are you all doing up anyway?" Kokuro asked them.

"Well lets see, it's time to get going for the trek to the beach on the other side of the volcano and you were still sleeping," Sonomi explained.

"Already?" he asked. "I could have sworn I was only asleep for an hour."

"Nope," Mia said smiling, the red gone from her face. "Time to get up and going."

"Well if you all want me to come it would be nice if you got out of my tent, especially you two," he said pointing to Mia and Sonomi.

"Sonomi, Kokuro is being mean to me again!" she shouted.

"Oh come on," Kokuro sighed.

About half an hour later the campers were all packed and ready for their day at the beach. "Well everyone, lets remember to use good judgment, we will be going over the volcano," Suji-sensei said to them.

Mia raised her hand and Suji-sensei nodded to her, "Why aren't we going around the volcano?" she asked.

"The problem with that is that there are many obstacles along that path, some of which are more dangerous than simply going up the volcano. We are doing it for the safety of all of you."

"Has the volcano erupted recently?" Kokuro asked nervously.

"You scared of fire?" Sonomi teased nudging him.

"Only if you're the one using it," he said slyly.

"Nice pick up line," Yaku said to him.

"Yeah thank yo…wait, what?"

"The volcano hasn't erupted in quite a long time, however it is active, so don't fall over. Now, when we are going up the volcano we will need complete concentration, it will be dangerous none-the-less so watch your step. Alright, if we are ready, then lets begin!" With that all the students grabbed their bags and began their trek towards the large mountain. They were walking for about an hour before they finally decided to take a rest. Some of the students were still a tad tired and the walk was either making their tiredness worse or making it better. For Kokuro it was making it worse.

He had collapsed on a tree that had fallen over and was laying there exhausted. "You get tired too easily," Sonomi said sitting down next to him.

"I told you that I didn't sleep well last night," he said turning to look at her.

"Why not?" Mia asked sitting on the ground next to the tree.

"I kept dreaming about that guy we saw last night."

"Speaking of that man," Suji-Sensei said walking up to them. "Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear you all. I wanted you all to know that the guards could not find any trace of whoever was out there. He must have left off a boat he had hidden somewhere."

"That or he's still hiding on the island somewhere," Kokuro yawned as he spoke.

"That's not a likely possibility. They searched the grounds all night and they couldn't come up with a thing."

"But wasn't he wearing black?" Mia said. "It would have been really easy for him to hide."

"True," Suji-Sensei said. "That's why they will also be searching for him today while it's sunny. I'm sure they will find him so you can rest easy."

"Alright," Kokuro said turning his head to the sky. Shortly after they began their trek towards the volcano again. While they were walking Kokuro's PDA began beeping, 'could this be that Ami girl again?' he thought to himself. Sonomi and Mia walked next to him to see what it said.

_Dear Kokuro,_

_It's Setsuna, the card shopkeeper. I told you I would send you a message when I received some more Magician's Force booster packs. I am just informing you that we do have some more. And in just another three days we will be receiving the Hane Kuriboh Plush Toy. I just thought you would be interested in knowing. I saw that you, Sonomi, and Mia were on the list to go on the Nature Hike. I hope you will all be safe. Please have fun._

_Setsuna_

_P.S. No one has won the LPC yet. Maybe you will be the first person to win it this year. Good luck._

"Well that was nice of her," Mia said. "She really is a nice person."

"Yeah she is," Kokuro said agreeing with Mia. "Well, now I know what I'm doing when I get back to the academy."

They continued their hike with a few more breaks but there wasn't much to say. It soon came time to start to hike the large volcano. They all got the special gear from the other two teachers and began the hike up. It was bright and sunny out now and there was a gentle breeze blowing past them.

"Wow, the view is so pretty," Mia commented.

Kokuro was ahead of her and he looked down to see Mia's brown hair blow in the wind. His face started blushing as Sonomi started to climb past him. "If you stare too long you might make a fool of yourself and end up falling off the volcano," Sonomi said to him.

"Stare…stare at what?" he asked nervously.

"Oh come on. Why don't you just tell her you like her?"

He sighed, "I don't know. Maybe I'm just a coward at heart."

"I don't think you are a coward," she said as they started climbing again. "Just by watching you duel I can tell you aren't. I just think you're scared of rejection."

He sighed again, "You are probably right. I don't take to rejection very well."

She chuckled a little, "yeah so I noticed."

"What are you two love birds talking about?" Mia said behind them chuckling.

"Us…" Kokuro began.

"…Love birds?" Sonomi finished.

"No way!" they said simultaneously.

"Thick as theives the two of you are," she chuckled. "Always talking to each other secretly."

"When have we done that?" Sonomi demanded.

"That time at the cafeteria, then that same day outside of the cafeteria when we were walking back to the dorm. Last night before you came into the tent after I went in, just now…shall I continue? I'm sure I can think of other examples," she said smiling sweetly.

"Ok fine, but where do you see love?"

Mia just giggled and winked, "just you two wait, you'll see."

Sonomi started turning red, whether it was with embarrassment or anger Kokuro couldn't tell. "Hey, I like him as a friend but I don't like him like that! Besides, he likes someone else."

Kokuro started using his free hand to make a slashing signal across his throat and shaking his head, mouthing 'no' to Sonomi.

"And who is it you like?" Mia asked Kokuro with a curious face.

"Oh look at that," Sonomi said mischievously. "I forgot I had to ask Suji-Sensei something. I'll leave you two alone to talk." She started climbing up faster getting away from them while Kokuro gave a slight glare at her.

"So who is it you like?" Mia asked him again. Kokuro turned his head to look at her curious face. He became red and started stuttering. "Alright, I won't press," she said smiling. "It's not really any of my business anyway. Sonomi was just trying to make fun of you, so if you don't want to tell me then I'll understand."

Kokuro opened his mouth to say something but then closed it, sighing in defeat. 'I'm just too nervous,' he thought to himself.

A while later they were finally on top of the volcano taking a break. The volcano's top was wide enough so it was easy for them all to stand. There was what looked like large soccer nets on opposite sides of the top except instead of a net it was a fence. If they were careful they could look over the edge to see the lava.

Mia ran up to Kokuro and grabbed his hand pulling him towards the edge, "look out at the island, isn't it beautiful?"

Kokuro thought that it was indeed beautiful, but before he could say so he made the mistake of looking too close to the edge and saw just how far up they really were. Without meaning too Kokuro began to fall off the edge, Mia grabbed him and pulled him back slamming him onto the ground. She bent down and checked his pulse. "Kokuro are you ok?" she asked.

"What's wrong?" Sonomi asked running over to them.

"Kokuro almost fell off the edge," Mia said very alert. "We were looking out at the island when suddenly he started to fall."

Kokuro opened his eyes and tried to focus them, "What happened?" he asked.

"You nearly got yourself killed!" Sonomi yelled at him. "Don't ever do that again!"

"Sorry," Kokuro said sitting up feeling a little dizzy. He put his hand to his head and waited for the dizziness to pass. "I guess I should have warned you that I don't do to well with heights. I guess it's my curse for not getting sea sick," he chuckled.

Suji-Sensei walked over to him and kneeled down on one knee, "If you knew this would happen you shouldn't have come up here."

"I can handle these things if I have 4 walls surrounding me or if I'm in a plane. If there are guardrails I don't do so badly, but I might still get dizzy."

"I'm sorry," Mia said with tears in her eyes. "I didn't mean to drag you over there, you should have told me."

Kokuro shook his head, "no, it was my fault for looking down at the base of the volcano. I was fine until I did that. Good thing there was no heavy wind. I probably would have flipped out feeling it go against me."

Sonomi let out breath of air, "don't scare me like that," she said. "I thought something really had happened for a moment."

"Sorry," he said. "If you get me to those soccer like things, I'll probably do better." Mia helped him up and they slowly walked over to the soccer net and looked out at the island once more.

Mia had a death grip on his arm, "are you sure you're ok?" she asked.

"Positive," he said holding the fence. They looked out through the fence and he seemed to be completely fine. "You're right, it is beautiful."

She smiled and looked at him, "I thought it was too."

They stared out at it for a few seconds before a thought occurred to Kokuro. "Oh yeah, I never thanked you for catching me," he said to her.

"We're a team," she said. "You, Sonomi, and I. I'm sure we would all work together to keep each other safe. However," she whispered into Kokuro's ear, "I think she would go more than out of her way to keep you safe."

"What's that supposed to mean!" Kokuro exclaimed blushing.

Mia just laughed, "You know I'm just teasing you right?"

"Ye…yeah, I know," he stuttered.

"You're stuttering, maybe she's the one you like."

"N…no, its no…not her," he stuttered some more.

Mia smiled at him and he blushed some more. "Kokuro…" she began but was cut off.

"So, what do you think these soccer like goals are here for anyway?" Sonomi asked walking up to them.

"I can answer that," Suji-Sensei said. "They are for dueling. If anyone gets hit with a powerful attack they will be slammed into the back of the fence instead of falling off the volcano."

"Who would duel on a volcano?" Mia asked.

"I would," Sonomi said getting determined.

"What? Are you crazy?" she screamed.

"Think about it, my monsters are mostly Fire Types. They were born to duel on a volcano."

"Well, if you can find a competitor, I'm sure that we have time for a fast duel," Suji-Sensei said.

"I'll duel her," an Oblisk Blue student said walking up to them. He was wearing the traditional Obelisk Blue uniform. He had green hair and gray eyes."

"Fine, I accept your challenge!" Sonomi said getting into position.

"You might want to move those two love birds first so that you don't go slamming into them," he said as he began to walk towards the other side of the volcano.

"Love birds?" she asked. She turned around to see that Mia still had her arm around Kokuro's. "Black mail," she said as Suji-Sensei handed her his camera.

The two looked at each other and then quickly let go. Sonomi let out a sigh and handed the camera back to Suji-Sensei. She got into position when Kokuro spoke up, "Do you mind if I stay over here? I really don't want to have to watch the duel standing unguarded.

"All students will be inside the fenced areas for safety anyway," Suji-Sensei said as all the students divided up to the different goals. "Try not to take too long, we do have a hike to continue and there will be dueling allowed at the beach."

"Oh, this won't take long," Sonomi said as she shuffled her deck and inserted it into her Duel Disk causing it to fold out.

"I was about to say the same thing," her opponent said.

"Go Sonomi!" Kokuro and Mia cheered.

Her opponent got onto his side of the field and shuffled his deck inserting it into his Duel Disk allowing it to fold out. "Call me Rerun, everyone does."

"Do you have an actual name," Sonomi asked.

"None that I'll tell to a Ra Yellow Student like you."

"I'll have you know that I'm Sonomi Hinote, the Legend of this school."

"And I'll tell you that it means absolutely nothing to me," he smirked as he drew his cards from his deck.

"Well, since I'm so much higher in rank, I'll go first," she said drawing her cards. She looked them over and gasped. 'Not a single monster,' she thought. 'But these could definitely help,' looking at some of her traps. "I activate Graceful Charity, allowing me to draw three cards as long as I discard two afterwards." An angel appeared on the field and showered her deck allowing her to draw three cards. She did so and looked them over. "I drop my Lava Golem and my DNA Transplant to the graveyard," she said as she slid the two cards into her Graveyard slot.

"Why would she discard her Lava Golem?" Kokuro asked. "It is one of her most powerful cards."

"Maybe she has a better use for the other cards in her hand," Mia suggested.

"Next I'll summon The Thing in the Crater!" The card appeared on the field but no monster showed up.

"And just where is your monster?" he asked her.

"Why don't you look in the volcano?" she asked smiling. He looked down and saw two sets of eyes in the volcano's lava staring up at him. (1000/1200) He jumped back slightly as she laughed, "I see that you finally noticed them. Lastly I will set 3 cards under the table and end my turn." Her three cards appeared in front of her and she smiled.

"Fine," he said as he drew.

"Reverse trap!" she called out. "Curse of Darkness, and I'll chain it to my second Curse of Darkness. Now you have double the trouble."

Rerun growled a bit but looked down at his hand. 'This is going to be tricky,' he thought. 'But I have to do it and luckily, I can support it later.' "I activate Final Countdown!" he called out as suddenly 20 glowing spheres of fire appeared around the top of the volcano. "This card costs 2000 Life Points to activate," he watched as his Life Points lowered. (6000)

"But because of my Curse of Darkness' you lose another 2000 Life Points." She smiled as she watched him get zapped by multiple blasts of lightning. (4000) "Maybe next time you shouldn't be so hasty in activating a spell card."

"But in the end it will all pay off," he said mischievously. "Do you know what these spheres are?"

"Not exactly," she said.

"Well I'll tell you. They are a signal."

"A signal for what?"

"A signal that summons the most fearsome creature ever and will bring me victory. After each of our turns pass one signal will die down, and then you will be in for one heck of a shock. But for now, I shall play one monster on guard and end my turn."

"He didn't attack," Mia said.

"Strange, he knows what her monster's attack power is," Kokuro said. "I wonder why he didn't attack."

"I don't know what you are planning but I can assure you that it won't work." She watched as one of the burning spheres disappeared. She drew her card and looked at it. "Well, if you don't want to attack, I will," she said as she slapped a card down on her disk. "I summon Solar Flare Dragon!" she called out as her large snake like dragon appeared inside the volcano's lava. (1500/1000) "Solar Flare Dragon, attack his monster!" The large dragon rose up from the lava and let a stream of fire out of its mouth. A monster that resembled a flying squirrel appeared on the field before being destroyed. (1000/100) "Now, Thing in the Crater, attack the player!"

"Don't you know anything?" Rerun said smirking as his Life Points increased. (5000)

"How did you do that?" she asked him.

"It was my Nimble Momonga's special ability. When destroyed as a result of battle it gives me an extra 1000 Life Points, and in addition I can summon more from my deck." He searched his deck and then placed two cards face down on guard."

"Fine, I'll attack one of your others then," she said as the volcano spout out a blast of fire that hit one of the other two flying squirrels."

"And I will take more Life Points, thank you," he said as his Life Points increased. (6000)

"Whatever, I end my turn, and now that I do my Solar Flare Dragon's ability causes you to lose 500 Life Points!" The dragon formed a ball of fire and blasted it at Rerun causing him to lose his breath. (5500)

He took a moment to catch his breath before he began talking, "now that you have ended your turn, another signal disappears," he smirked as one of the burning spheres disappeared. He looked at his card and smiled. "I'll set one card under the table and then I'll set one monster on guard and that does it for me." Another burning sphere vanished and Sonomi thought that she could faintly feel the presence of something around her. She didn't like the feeling of it at all.

She placed her hand on her deck and she heard the all too familiar sound of Kuriboh. She looked over at Kokuro and Mia and saw that they were smiling. She smiled back at them and drew Kuriboh. 'I don't understand what's happening with you my friend,' she thought. 'but at least I know that no matter what happens, I have my friends to back me up.' She placed it into her hand and looked at Rerun, "Your Final Countdown doesn't scare me. I may not know what it does, but I know I will be able to get through it."

"Oh? Well let's test your theory, Reverse Pyro Clock of Destiny!" Suddenly an old stone clock appeared on the field with symbols instead of numbers. There was a clock hand made of fire on the clock. "My Pyro Clock of Destiny adds a turn to our duel, which means that another signal vanishes." The fire hand did one complete revolution around the clock and one of the spheres disappeared. "Now you have even less time before your doom."

"Don't count on it," she said determined, "Your clocks and spheres are nothing to me. Go Thing, attack his final Nimble Momonga!" Another blast of fire came out of the lava and hit the final Nimble Momonga.

"Ahh, the sweet sound of my Life Points going up," Rerun said as they increased. (6500)

"Don't count on them staying up for too long!" Sonomi shouted at him. "Solar Flare Dragon, attack his monster!" The Pyro Subtype dragon let out a blast that hit a clown in a fancy looking suite and a large hat. (500/1200) It let out a small wave before being destroyed completely.

"What was that?"

"It was my Peten the Dark Clown," he said. Suddenly he took the card from the graveyard and put it in his pocket. He took another from his deck and placed it face up. The clown appeared again and stuck its tongue out at Sonomi. "Peten's special ability allows me to remove it from the graveyard from play when it is sent there to special summon another one from my hand or deck."

"Fine, I end my turn, and that means that you lose another 500 Life Points." The Solar Flare Dragon blasted a ball of fire at Rerun and he grunted a bit when it hit him.

"Don't forget in doing so, another signal disappears," he sneered. His Life Points dropped and a sphere vanished. (6000) "And that makes it my turn," he said drawing. He drew his card and looked down at it. "I set one monster on guard and end my turn," he said. Yet another sphere disappeared leaving only 14 burning spheres left.

Sonomi drew her card and looked down at it smiling. "I summon Command Knight," she said as a woman in armor and a long sword appeared on the field. (1200/1900) "My Command Knights special ability gives all warrior monsters an extra 400 attack points," she said smiling. (1600/1900) "Now, where was I? Oh yeah, Solar Flare Dragon, attack that Peten!" The dragon shot a stream of fire out at Peten. It was destroyed and then another appeared on the field. "Command Knight, attack that monster!" The knight ran up and slashed its sword at the clown and finally had the last one destroyed. "Now, thing in the crater, finish off the last monster!" A stream of fire came out of the lava and hit the monster. A pair of three small dragons appeared on the field carrying swords and shields. (700/800) The dragons were destroyed and Sonomi smiled. Suddenly three more of the dragons appeared on the field.

"That is the special ability of my Troop Dragon," he said snickering. "When they are destroyed in battle I can special summon another one from my deck in face up attack or on guard position."

"You just keep replaying all the same monsters!" Sonomi shouted at him. 'Replay,' she thought. 'That's it!' "I know why they call you Rerun, its because of the fact that you keep playing the same monsters over and over. Also by reusing all the same monsters you kill off the time for your Final Countdown, whatever it does.

"So you finally figured it out," he mused.

"But why call you rerun?" Mia asked. "Wouldn't Replay make more sense?"

"You silly little Ra Yellow girls can be so naive. Have you ever heard anyone saying that they play three Troop Dragons, or play three Petens? No, you hear them say that they _run _three Troop Dragons, and three Petens."

"Actually, I have heard people say that they _play _the cards," Kokuro said.

"And when did you become a Ra Yellow girl?" Rerun asked giving the impression that he wasn't talking to Kokuro at all.

Mia whispered in Kokuro's ear, "I know when you became a Ra Yellow girl."

"Cut that out!" he yelled at her but she just giggled.

"I can see we aren't going to get to the beach anytime soon," Sonomi said.

"Just wait till Final Countdown finishes, then we will be back on our way."

"You wish," she said.

"I know."

"Whatever, I end my turn and you lose another 500 Life Points."

"And another sphere vanishes," he said. The Dragon hit him with fire but he didn't mind too much, especially when one of the spheres disappeared. (5500) He drew his card and looked down at it. "Pot of Greed should help," he said drawing two cards.

"I'm so glad you forgot about my Curse of Darkness' trap cards." She smiled as multiple blasts of lightning struck him.

He fell to his knees as his Life Points fell. (3500) Muttering curses under his breath he slowly stood up and began his turn again, "I'll set two cards under the table and one monster on guard, that ends my turn." Another sphere disappeared and he smiled slightly. Sonomi drew her card and looked down at it when Rerun called out, "Reverse Traps, two Pyro Clock of Destinies!" he called out as two more of the clocks appeared on the field. Each one did a revolution and two more spheres vanished leaving only 10 left."

"Don't get cocky, I'll beat you long before the spheres disappear completly," she said. "I offer up my Thing in the Crater to summon my Thestalos, the Firestorm Monarch!" she cried out as man in red robes and armor came out of the lava and floated up to the top of the volcano. "And his special ability allows me to burn one card in your hand, and if it's a monster you lose Life Points equal to the star level of the monster times 100. So burn the left card!" Thestalos let out a blast of fire from his hand and it incinerated a Masked Dragon.

"My Masked Dragon only has 3 stars, so I only lose 300 Life Points," he smiled as a small stream of fire circled around him. (3200)

"Fine, now Command Knight, attack that Troop Dragon!" The knight slashed at the dragons and then more dragons appeared on the field. "Solar Flare Dragon, wipe out the last of those dragons!" The snake like dragon let loose a blast of fire that incinerated the last of the dragons. "Thestalos, blast that on guard monster!" Thestalos threw a fire ball at the monster and a large statue that looked like it came from an ancient civilization appeared before it was destroyed. (300/2000) "So, that has too high of a defense to be able to summon anything I'm guessing."

"Right, it was my Stone Statue of the Aztecs, I didn't count on you summoning a stronger monster or I would have played something else. Oh well."

"Well I end my turn," Sonomi said as her Solar Flare Dragon let loose a blast of fire hitting Rerun. (2700) Another signal vanished leaving 9.

"You're time is almost up," he smirked as he drew his card. He looked down at it and the smirk got wider "This could be risky, but I like to take a risk," he said placing a card under the table. "Finally, I'll set one monster on guard and end my turn." A signal vanished and he crossed his arms more. "Just 4 more turns for each of us and I will have taken down the Legend of Duelist Academy," he said.

"Don't count on it, you're Life Points will be gone long before then." She drew her card and looked down at it. "And this card will make sure of it. I summon Raging Flame Sprite!" A small pixie like monster appeared on the field holding a small wand. (100/200) "This monster can attack your Life Points directly and every time it does it gains 1000 Life Points."

"Then I will chain to your summoning," he said as his trap flipped up. "Sixth Sense," he said.

"Sixth Sense?" Sonomi asked. "I've never heard of that card.

"That is because it is exceptionally rare," he said smiling as a die appeared on the field spinning. "I call one of two numbers, if I get either one, that is how many cards I draw from my deck. If I get any other number then I lose that many cards from my deck. So I call 5 and 6."

"I can understand why he did that," Kokuro said.

"Why is that?" Mia asked.

"If he lands on a 5 or a 6 then he gets to draw 5 or 6 cards, but if he fails he only loses 1, 2, 3, or 4 cards," Kokuro explained.

"So either way it won't really hurt him!" Mia gasped.

"Right," Kokuro said.

The die was dropped and seemed to be rolling on thin air since there was no ground at the center of the volcano. It slowly started turning on its side and landed on a 6. "Look at that," he said smiling.

"No way!" Sonomi shouted, as he drew his 6 cards. "Fine, I'll finish you off fast, Raging Flame Sprite, attack the player!" The sprite let loose a small blast of fire.

"I discard Kuriboh so that I take no damage," he said as the Kuriboh appeared on the field and was destroyed. Sonomi, Kokuro, and Mia simultaneously let out a small growl.

"Fine, Command Knight, attack!" The command Knight appeared slashing a large red and green bug.

"You destroyed my Flying Kamikiri #1, allowing me to summon another Wind Type monster with 1500 attack points or less from my deck to the field," he said as he placed the card from his deck on the field. Another Flying Kamakiri #1 appeared buzzing at Sonomi, "You'll never get past my defenses," he smiled.

"Solar Flare Dragon, attack it now!" The dragon let loose a blast of fire destroying the other Flying Kamakiri. Another appeared on the field and Rerun smiled, even though he lost 100 Life Points. (2600) "Thestalos, destroy the last one!" Thestalos let loose a blast of fire destroying the last bug. (1600) "I end my turn and now my Solar Flare Dragon knocks out 500 more Life Points, the duel is almost done for you," she said. (1100) Another signal vanished and he chuckled.

"You're half right, the duel is almost over, but I shall win."

"You must be delusional, you have no way to keep your Life Points safe,"

"Oh don't I?" he asked as he drew his card. "I set on monster on guard and then one card under the table and end my turn." Another signal vanished leaving only 6.

"I don't know what you plan on doing. You haven't even touched my Life Points!"

"I don't need to touch your Life Points," he said smirking.

"I activate Tribute to the Doomed!" Sonomi called out. "I discard Gravity Bind from my hand and have it destroy your monster." Multiple blasts of Lightning hit Sonomi but she was able to take it. (6000) Wrappings came to destroy the monster but instead of being destroyed, it appeared on the field. It was a muscular man holding a large shield. (100/2600)

"Unfortunately for you my Big Shield Gardna won't be affected by your spell. You lost a card and Life Points for nothing," he smiled.

"No matter, you have no way of stopping this!" she called out. "Raging Flame Sprite, attack the player!" The Flame Sprite began to prepare its attack when suddenly Rerun called out.

"Reverse Trap, Zero Gravity. Now all monsters switch their positions."

All the monsters on the field went on guard except for the Big Shield Gardna that went to attack mode. "Fine, I end my turn and now you lose another 500 Life Points."

The dragon shot out a blast of fire at Rerun causing him to go down on one knee. (600) Another Sphere vanished and he slowly stood up. He drew his card and looked down at it. "It's time I go on the offensive," he said. "I keep this baby stored away just incase it gets to something like this. So now I sacrifice my Big Shield Gardna and I summon my Cyber Tech Aligator!" Suddenly a large red creature that didn't look much like an alligator appeared on the field. It had large dragon like wings and sharp fang like teeth. (2500/1600) "Behold it in all its power!"

"It's a weak monster that won't do anything to help you win."

"We'll see about that. Cyber Tech Alligator, blast away that Thestalos!" The Alligator ran forward and slashed its claws across Thestalos' chest.

"Reverse Trap, Back Fire," Sonomi called out. "Every time a Fire Type Monster is destroyed on my side of the field, you will lose 500 Life Points." A blast of fire came from where Thestalos had been and knocked Rerun backwards. (100) He growled but started laughing, "I feel sorry for you, you have nothing that can get past my Cyber Tech Alligator, I end my turn." He watched as another signal disappeared, there were only 4 left now.

"I feel sorry for _you_," Sonomi said drawing her card. You are so delusional you can't even see past your stupid card that you have lost. I could just end my turn now and you would lose all your Life Points due to Solar Flare Dragon, or I could choose to destroy you using my Raging Flame Sprite, and due to its special ability it would be a direct attack. So, the only question now is, how will I defeat you?"

"No…it's not possible," Rerun said as he realized he had lost.

"I'll go the conventional way and take your Life Points in an attack. I switch Raging Flame Sprite to attack mode and have it attack you directly." The Raging Flame Sprite fired a small stream of fire at Rerun depleting his Life Points. (0) "You lose," she said as the holograms faded away.

"Way to go Sonomi!" Mia cheered.

"Good job," Kokuro said walking up to her and shaking her hand. "You really showed him who was boss."

"Meh." They turned to see Rerun walking up to them. "Had you not had that Curse of Darkness I wouldn't have lost. I would have had enough Life Points thanks to my Nimbles to win. You just got lucky."

"There was no luck there," she said. "It was all skill." She turned around and high-fived Mia and Kokuro.

"Well, that was an interesting match," Suji-Sensei said. "I hope you are all rested because we need to head back down the mountain. Kokuro, can you take it?"

He gave a thumb up, and smiled, "Of course. All I have to do is faint." Everyone laughed then they grabbed their things and headed down the mountain. Getting down the volcano was faster than everyone thought it would be, much to Kokuro's pleasure. They decided to skip out on the break since they had gotten down so fast and no one was really tired yet. They walked the whole way to the beach without taking a break. Kokuro, Sonomi, Mia, Yaku, and Elda were talking all the way, mostly about Sonomi's recent performance.

Once they got to the beach they all looked out and were surprised at how beautiful it was. The water was crystal clear and the sand was nice and soft. "Here we are," Suji-Sensei said. "You can walk along the beach, you can duel, you can swim. You can play volleyball if you want, there is a whole bunch that you can do. So now, let the relaxation begin!" The students all ran into the beach and went off to do their own thing. There were bathrooms on the beach and some of the students went in to change into bathing suites.

Yaku and Kokuro were walking out of the bathroom telling a joke, "…and then Selaya said, 'it's not milk, it's glue!'" Yaku started laughing out loud as Kokuro chuckled at the memory.

"I can't believe your dad did that too her," he said in between laughs.

"It was meant for me, but she was the one who fell for it. I felt really bad for her but she laughed it off and didn't let it bother her, for too long."

Just then Elda, Mia, and Sonomi came up to the two boys. They were all wearing two-pieces except Mia who was also wearing a white shirt over hers. "So do you think I'm pretty _now _Kokuro?" Elda asked.

Kokuro turned a bright red and Yaku laughed at him, "I think you are all pretty," Yaku said to the girls.

"Thank you," Mia and Elda said.

Sonomi just stood there and enjoyed the look on Kokuro's face. He walked over to him and nudged him on the shoulder. "So, are you going to talk to her or what?" she asked him.

"Who? Elda?" he asked.

Sonomi slapped him in the head causing him to let out a loud "OW!"

Mia turned to look at the two, "what did you that to him for?" she asked Sonomi.

Sonomi gave a sly smile to Kokuro and his face flushed again, "oh." She nodded and then pushed him to her. She then went next to Elda and Yaku taking their arms in hers, "Come on, I feel like getting something to drink from the cooler, let's go guys."

"But why do we need to come with you?" Yaku asked.

"I'll tell you on the way there," she said to him smiling.

"I'm thirsty too," Mia said going to join them.

"No you aren't," Sonomi said to her.

"I'm not?" she asked confused.

"See, you aren't thirsty, you just admitted it to all of us here. I'm sure Kokuro would like to take a walk, why don't you go with him? I'm sure he could use the company. Besides, I know that Yaku and Elda are thirsty just like me."

"We are?" they asked together.

"See, you just admitted it to everyone here, so lets go get drinks." With that she started shoving them off with her. In her head she was thinking, 'I can't believe I have to play match maker, sheesh.'

Yaku and Elda were each thinking the exact same thoughts, 'but I'm not thirsty.'

Mia was thinking a thought slightly different than Yaku and Elda, 'but I'm thirsty.'

Kokuro had his own thought as well, 'Wow, she sure is pushy.' He turned to look at Mia's puzzled face. "Well," he said getting her attention. "I guess I'm going for a walk now."

"I guess I'm going with you seeing as how I'm not thirsty," she said following him.

The twosome walked along the water allowing it to splash their feet as they walked. "Sonomi was acting pretty strange back there huh?" Mia asked.

"You know her better than I do," he said.

"I guess," she said before she spotted something, "Oh! Look at this!" she said running over towards something that was shining in the sunlight. Kokuro followed and saw that she had found a bright colored seashell. She tried to put it in her hair but it fell out. She tried again only to come up with the same results, "it won't stay in," she said sadly.

Kokuro sort of gulped before saying, "I can make it stay."

"You can?" she asked excitedly. "Would you please?" she begged.

"Of course," he said smiling a little. "Would you mind sitting down?" She shook her head and sat down on the sand. He got down on his knees and slowly wrapped her hair around it and toyed with it for a few minutes. He enjoyed the feel of her hair in his hands; she had really smooth, almost silk like hair. He finished up and they walked to the water so that she could see it in the reflection.

Her eyes sparkled when she saw it, "It's perfect! My boyfriend can't do anything like this, how did you do it?"

"My sister Selaya always…wait, boyfriend?" he asked as the word triggered in his mind.

"Yeah, his name is Takashi. I met him during the summer break before I came back to the academy this year. It was funny; I met him by dueling him. Afterwards, he asked me if I wanted to go out. So we started going out and then he asked me to be his girlfriend, so I said yes."

Kokuro had felt as though he had been stabbed in the chest. 'Of course she has a boyfriend, how could she not? She is smart, pretty, and kind. How could anybody _not_ like her?'

"Are you ok Kokuro?" she asked him.

He looked at her, and let his face betray his emotions, "I'm fine. I just didn't realize you had a boyfriend."

"Come to think of it, I haven't even told Sonomi yet. I can't believe I forgot to tell her! Then again, we have been kind of preoccupied ever since you came to the academy." She smiled at him. Even though he knew she was taken, her smile still made him feel warm inside, and it calmed him down. "Oh! You didn't tell me how you knew how to get the shell to stay in my hair."

"Oh that?" he asked smiling. "I taught myself. I told you about my sister, Selaya. She counts on me to do stuff like that for her. She has long hair like you, so I'm used to working with hair because of her."

"That's so cool!" she said.

"You don't think it's weird that a guy knows how to work with hair?"

She shook her head, "No. Everyone has special talents, and your sister sure helped you out with that. And now you helped me out with it. Do you know how to braid hair?"

Kokuro blushed a bit and nodded meekly. "I'm not the best but I can pull it off."

"Would you mind braiding my hair after the nature hike? Oh, but I'm sure you have other things you have to do,"

He shook his head, "No, I would love too," he said.

"Oh thank you," she said giving him a big hug.

Kokuro started blushing again, he felt a bit uncomfortable hugging her knowing she had a boyfriend. That was when he remembered what Sonomi had said just the night before.

"_You have to understand, Mia is a caring girl, and she likes to make people feel good, but it was just a friendly hug. I'm surprised you couldn't see that."_

'This is just another friendly hug,' he thought. 'But even so, I'm going to enjoy it.' He put his arms around her and rested his chin on her head, "You're welcome," he said softly. They held on for a few more seconds before releasing from their hug.

Mia looked down and asked softly, "Can we still be friends?"

Kokuro was shocked by her question, "of course. Why wouldn't we be?"

"Well, I know that you like me as more than a friend. And I don't want you not being my friend just because I have a boyfriend."

"Please," he said putting his hand on her shoulder. "Not being friends with someone, just because they are taken, that's childish and stupid."

"I'm sorry, I should have told you sooner..."

"It doesn't matter," he cut her off. "We are friends, and that will never change. But if he ever hurts you in anyway, you just call me, I'll take care of him," he said smiling making her smile too.

"Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome," he said standing up. "And don't worry, I'll still braid your hair for you."

"Thanks," she said smiling as he helped her up. "Just to let you know, if I wasn't taken, I would totally go out with you."

"Well thank you, that means a lot to me. Now, why don't I get you a drink?"

"Sounds great!" she said smiling and flashing her peace sign.

They walked back towards the rest of the group and Sonomi walked up to them. "Mia, I think you're thirsty," she said to her.

"I am!" she exclaimed running to the cooler.

Sonomi chuckled and then turned to Kokuro, "Well? Did you tell her you want to kiss her?" she asked nudging him.

"She already knew," he said smiling as he watched Mia grab a soda from the cooler and begin to drink it immediately.

"I'm not surprised, she's not stupid. She just wanted you to wait until you were ready to tell her yourself. So, what happened? Did you two kiss or what?"

"She's...well, I'll let her tell you," he said walking over to the cooler. Sonomi watched as Kokuro said something to Mia and watched as she nodded.

Kokuro watched Mia go up to Sonomi as he grabbed his own soda from the cooler. He walked over to one of the trees and sighed as he sat down and took a sip of his drink. Rerun happened to be walking by and looked down at him, "what are you so depressed about?" he asked.

"Not depressed so much as disappointed. But, the world is full of disappointments."

"Don't I know it," he huffed and walked off.

Kokuro smiled, he figured Rerun was talking about his loss to Sonomi. Suddenly a ball landed next to him kicking sand into his face and spilling it in his drink. He looked up glaring when he saw Yaku running over to him. He picked up the ball and looked down at Kokuro, "sorry bout that man. I missed the ball. I'll get you another drink."

"I can get it," Kokuro said standing up. He walked over to the cooler and saw Sonomi standing there with two drinks in her hand. She tossed one to Kokuro and he caught it. "And just how did you know I needed another drink?" he asked her.

"Because I hired Yaku and Elda to screw up your other drink," she said smiling slyly.

"And why would you want to do that?" he asked a tad annoyed.

"Because it saved me the trouble of having to walk to you."

"Lazy."

"Hey, I climbed the volcano, walked for hours, and dueled, I'm exhausted."

"Or lazy," he said chuckling. "So, what did you want?"

"I wanted to say I was sorry to hear that Mia was already taken. I know you're bummed out about it."

Kokuro shrugged, "I'll get over it. I can be content with her just being my friend. Although it will take a while."

Sonomi smiled, "that's the spirit. Besides, there are always other fish in the sea."

"Yeah," he said staring at the ocean. "I should have expected that though. After all, you'd have to be crazy not to like the girl."

"You bet." Kokuro mumbled something making Sonomi's eyebrows rise. "What did you say?"

"I said, 'poor dad.'"

"Poor dad?"

"Yeah, my dad kept joking that I should get a girlfriend while I'm here. He'll be disappointed to hear I didn't," he said chuckling.

Sonomi shrugged, "Oh well. It's not like it's the end of the world. You don't get a girlfriend, there's always another time."

"True," he said chuckling. "So, anything you want to do?"

"I was going to go swimming, wanna join?"

"I thought you were exhausted," he said.

"Doesn't mean I can't swim though," she said. "So you coming or not?"

"Sure, why not," he said following her into the ocean. The water was warm and it felt great. Sonomi and Kokuro decided to race each other from one point to the other. They were tied for a while but eventually Sonomi got in the lead and ended up winning the whole race. They were both out of breath once the race was finished.

"Good...race," Sonomi said almost breathless.

"Yeah, you...too," he said just as breathless. They dried themselves and lay on the sand for a while staring up at the sky. "It's beautiful," he said staring up at the sky.

"What is?' she asked.

"They sky and the clouds. I love big fluffy clouds like those over there," he said pointing up.

"I guess," she said.

"Don't you ever look at the clouds?" he asked her.

"Not really," she admitted. "Should I?"

"You don't have too," he said. "But it's nice to sometimes just lay down someplace and watch the world go by."

"I don't have time to just lie around most of the time. I'm always working towards my future and not letting anything go to waist. I have to please _him_," she said not realizing what she said until it was too late.

"Who's, 'him?'" Kokuro asked.

Just then Mia ran up to them and kneeled down next to Kokuro. "One of the students here asked me to give you a message," she said.

"What was the message?" he asked.

"He wants to meet you at the volleyball court over there," she said pointing. "And he wants you to bring your Duel Disk."

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "I'm guessing he wants to duel you," she said.

Kokuro stood up and went to get his Duel Disk. "Who would want to randomly duel me?" he wondered as he set off.


	15. Magical Masters

Sdrive: I do not own Yugioh GX, and I don't own Tsubasa or anyone in it.

* * *

Kokuro, Mia, and Sonomi walked towards the volleyball court wondering what the whole duel was about. Kokuro got up to the volleyball court to see a student that he had remembered when he saw the students right before the nature hike and again at the campfire. He was a Ra Yellow student and he seemed angry. He had white hair and it looked like he had some muscles. His arms were crossed and he stared right at Kokuro. "Kokuro Samé," he said. "You make me sick."

Kokuro stopped and rolled his eyes, "great, what did I do now?"

"You are a disgrace to Magician Duelists everywhere," he said angrily.

"What did you say?" Kokuro asked getting instantly angry at the boy. "What do you mean a disgrace?"

"Your pitiful deck couldn't do anything against my deck. I was the original Magician user of Ra Yellow, and I am the best Magician Duelist in the entire world! Better than even Yugi Mouto!"

Kokuro rolled his eyes again, "Oh please. If you even look at Yugi's deck long enough, you would realize that while his favorite card is the Black Magician, and although his deck does contain some magicians, it's mostly just an assortment of cards put together. It has no real theme."

"I am still the best Magician Duelist in the world, and I'm going to prove it! Right here, right now!" he exclaimed as he pulled out his deck and shuffled it. He slid it into his Duel Disk and let it fold out, "The name's Fai, Fai D. Flowright!"

"Oh please," Kokuro said rolling his eyes again. "Fai D. Flowright is a kind hearted magician from the land of Seresu, you are a punk whose ego is overblown."

"Who is Fai D. Flowright?" Mia asked.

"It's a character from a manga I read called Tsubasa."

The other kid let out a growl, "I hoped you wouldn't know about that manga. Fine, my true name is Tejin, now get ready for a magical blast."

"You're the one who needs to get ready," Kokuro said shuffling his deck and inserting it into his Duel Disk.

"I guess Kokuro really does take his Magician Deck seriously," Sonomi said.

"Yeah, he told me all about it," Mia said. "How he wants to be the best Magician Duelist."

"Really? Wow, I had no idea he was that serious."

Kokuro drew his cards, as did Tejin. "I will let you go first," Tejin said. "I want you to have the best chance to win," he said snickering.

"I don't need your charity," Kokuro said, clearly annoyed as he drew his 6th card. He looked down and smiled. "I wonder if you can do this?" he asked as he placed a card on the field. "I summon Archfiend Soldier." A fiend appeared on the field with a long menacing sword." (1900/1500)

"I wouldn't want to do that," Tejin said. "That thing is ugly."

"I wasn't talking about the Archfiend," he said as he slid a card into his Spell and Trap Zone, "I activate Tribute Doll. I must offer a monster on my side of the field and then I can special summon a Level 7 card from my hand to my field," he smiled as the Archfiend vanished. "Say hello to the Black Magician," he said as his green magician in the purple robes and long staff appeared on the field. (2500/2100) "This is what I was talking about, summoning the Black Magician on the first turn. Finally I'll set two cards under the table and end my turn." The cards appeared behind the Black Magician and Kokuro smiled at them.

Tejin drew his 6th card and just looked at Kokuro. "Your deck is all chance and no skill."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You got lucky that you had the Black Magician in your hand. Otherwise that move would have failed. As for me, I don't need to have my Black Magician in my hand to summon him."

"I don't either. I can easily use the Sages Stone card in combination with Black Magician Girl to summon it from my deck. Or I can use my Skilled Black Magician as another means of summoning it."

"You fool, there are other ways of summoning the Black Magician," he said as he placed a card on the field. "I activate Spell Economics. This continuous Spell Card makes it so that I don't have to pay any Life Points to activate my Spell Cards. So now I activate Black Magic Curtain!" he called out as a stage with a flowing black curtain appeared with a skeleton on top. "Normally I would have to pay half of my Life Points to activate this card but thanks to Spell Economics I don't have too. Now I can automatically summon my Black Magician from my deck!"

"You have one too?" Kokuro exclaimed as the skeleton threw back the curtain. The Black Magician stepped out of the curtain but it looked different than Kokuro's. Tejin's had red robes instead of purple and the magician's hair was white instead of blonde. (2500/2100) "So you do have a Black Magician," Kokuro said growling.

Tejin laughed menacingly, "Of course I do. Although it is not as rare as the legendary Blue Eyes White Dragon or even the Red Eyes Black Dragon, Black Magician and it's female counterpart, the Black Magician Girl, are still extremely rare. I'm willing to bet that they are the third and fourth rarest cards ever. That very knowledge makes me sick when I think about the fact that you have one in your deck."

"You know," Sonomi said. "He's right. They are some of the rarest cards out there. How _did _Kokuro get his Black Magician and Black Magician Girl cards?"

"Maybe he had to spend a lot of money," Mia suggested.

"You mock me for my deck being nothing but chance," Kokuro said upset. "Yet if you hadn't drawn that Spell Economics card, you would have had to pay half your Life Points."

"The difference is that I had the means to summon my Magician easier, and if needed I wouldn't have minded paying 4000 Life Points to summon it. However since I didn't have to, I figured why should I?"

"Your magician must be a fake," Sonomi said to him. "Yours doesn't even look like Kokuro's."

"The Black Magician card has 3 different prints. The kind that Yugi Mouto owns is the one with purple robes, white skin, and purple hair. The one that your friend over there has is the one with purple robes, green skin, and blonde hair. The last one that I hold is the one that has red robes and white skin and unlike the other Black Magicians, his hair is white."

"Why would they do that?" Mia asked.

Tejin shrugged, "You'd have to ask Pegasus that. I know that it's the same way with the legendary Red Eyes Black Dragon. The difference is that the Red Eyes only has one other printing, unlike the Black Magician. However it makes no difference to me. I prefer my red Black Magician. Last year when I was in Osiris Red, many people told me that I looked like my Black Magician. I took it as a compliment and loved every moment of it. But you, you don't even look like the Black Magician at all. There is no reason you should hold it."

Kokuro rolled his eyes yet again, "Just because I don't look like my Black Magician doesn't mean I shouldn't use it."

"Whatever," he said. "I set two cards under the table and end my turn." His two cards appeared on the field behind his Black Magician and he smiled at them. "You know, I just thought of something," he said smiling deviously at Kokuro.

"And what is that?" Kokuro asked as he drew his card and put it into his hand.

"It seems that we both love the Black Magician, so why don't we make a wager? The loser of this duel forfeits their Black Magician to the winner. That sounds fair right?"

"What fairness is there when you risk the main key point of your deck just to settle a dispute?"

"Are you scared?" Tejin mocked. "That must be it, you don't want to risk your precious Black Magician. How sad, because if you were a real opponent you would have the guts to make this bet."

"You put too much confidence in yourself and boast too much, that will be your downfall. I am now certain that I will win this duel. So I will agree to your terms," he said. His Black Magician seemed to be shocked by the statement. It looked over at Kokuro worriedly. "I have confidence in you," he said. The Black Magician nodded and turned back to face it's red robed counterpart. "I summon White Magician Pikeru," he called out as his female magician with the white robes and pink hair appeared on the field. (1200/0) "Next I will activate Mage Power!" Kokuro slid the card into the slot and watched as his Black Magician began to glow. "This card gives my Black Magician an extra 500 attack points for every spell and trap on my side of the field."

"I know what it does," he said annoyed. "Now your Black Magician has 4000 attack points and 3600 defense points."

"Yes, and now it is stronger than _your _Black Magician. So go my Black Magician, attack his Black Magician with your Black Magic Attack!" The Magician jumped up and let a ball of green energy go from his staff. The ball of magic was causing green electric like magic to come off of it as it went towards the opposing magician.

Two cylinders suddenly appeared in front of the magician and the energy ball went through one and came out the other aiming straight for Kokuro. "As you might of guessed I had a Magic Cylinder Trap waiting for you for when you decided to attack."

The energy ball came to hit Kokuro when suddenly a rune circle appeared underneath Kokuro's feet. The ball of energy tried to get past but couldn't go farther than the circle. The magic ball fizzled away as Kokuro began to chuckled. "You realize you set one of the most obvious traps there was right? Any Magician Duelist has a Magic Cylinder waiting to be sprung, so I had my Pikeru's Circle of Enchantment ready to protect my Life Points. Sure my Black Magician loses some attack and defense points but it is still strong enough to take out your Black Magician. (3500/3100) I end my turn."

Tejin drew his card and looked down at it. "Don't count on it," he said. "I have a counter for everything you do. So now I summon Ebon Magician Curran!" Suddenly a cute magician in black robes appeared on the field with bunny like black ears and a whip in her hand. (1200/0) When it saw the White Magician Pikeru it folded it's arms and gave out a 'humph.' "I'm positive that you will see what my Ebon Magician does next turn. But for now, Black Magician, destroy White Magician Pikeru!" The Magician began to glow red and it shot out a dark green stream of magic right at the small magician.

"Reverse Magic Cylinder," Kokuro called out as his own Magic Cylinder flipped up. The stream went in one and blasted out the other striking Tejin. "I see you weren't able to stop my Magic Cylinder," Kokuro chuckled as he watched Tejin's Life Points drop. (5500)

"I don't have to, I have all the power I need right here in my deck. The Life Points are no big deal. Besides, your Black Magician loses even more attack points. (3000/2600) I end my turn."

Kokuro drew his card and looked at it, "Now my White Magician Pikeru's special ability activates. I gain 400 Life Points for each monster on my side of the field," he said as his Life Points increased. (8800) "Now I activate Pot of Greed giving me two new cards," he drew his cards and looked at them. "I set two cards under the table!" Kokuro said as two more cards appeared behind the Black Magician. It began to glow again as its attack power increased. (4000/3600) "Now, Black Magician, attack Ebon Magician Curran!" he called out.

"Not so fast," Tejin said smiling deviously. Suddenly a hexagram appeared around the Black Magician stopping it from moving. "I just reversed my Spell Binding Circle, keeping your Black Magician from attacking or switching positions. I use a magic curse where as you use chains."

"Are you going to mock my deck all day?" Kokuro asked annoyed.

"Why shouldn't I? It's not like it is any good."

"If you think my deck is no good then why don't you actually face it instead of spitting at it!"

"Kokuro is really upset," Mia said.

"He's taking this duel really seriously," Sonomi pointed out. "And I can see why, he's risking not only his favorite card but his rarest card."

"But I thought his rarest card was his Cybernetic Magician," Mia said.

"Right now it is, but there is no telling how many of those will come out."

"I end my turn," Kokuro said still annoyed.

"My turn then," Tejin said drawing. "And now for the special ability of my Ebon Magician Curran. During my standby phase you lose 300 Life Points for each monster you have on your side of the field. So with two monsters you lose 600 Life Points!" Ebon Magician Curran took her whip and flung it at Kokuro hitting him on his chest as his Life Points went down. (8200) "How did you like that?" he asked.

"It had a sting, I'll give it that much," Kokuro said standing. "But I've faced one of these before, and I can handle it once I get my Magician free."

"Well handle this!" he said as he placed a card on the field. "I activate Thousand Knives! This rare spell can only be played when I have Black Magician on my side of the field. It will now destroy any monster on your side of the field, and I choose your Black Magician!" A bunch of knives appeared in the Black Magician's hand and a thousand more behind it. The magician flung the knives at the other magician and the rest of the knives followed.

"So sorry," Kokuro said as a machine appeared in front of the Black Magician creating a barrier. The barrier stopped the knives from making contact and they dropped to the ground vanishing. "But my Spell Shield Type 8 just negated the effect of your knives since they directly targeted my magician." The machine disappeared and the barrier dissipated. "Maybe you'll have better luck next time," he said smiling as his Black Magician's attack power decreased. (3500/3100)

"Fine, I set one monster on guard," he said as his monster appeared on the field.

"I'll chain that with my Wall of Revealing Light. I'll pay 4000 Life Points to make it so that none of your monsters with 4000 or less attack points can attack," he said. (4200) "Just to keep my Pikeru safe," he smiled.

"And with your Pikeru you will gain more Life Points," Tejin said annoyed. "Fine, I have no other move at the moment, so make yours."

Kokuro smiled and drew his card, "and now I shall gain 800 more Life Points," he said as his Life Points increased. (5000) "I'm behind right now, but I won't be for long. I summon Skilled White Magician," Kokuro said as his magician in white robes appeared on the field. (1700/1900) "Skilled White Magician, attack his Ebon Magician Curran!" he called out as the magician let loose a blast of white light from its staff and hit the Ebon Magician. Kokuro smiled when he watched Tejin's Life Points drop to equal his. (5000) He looked down at Tejin's face down monster. "I could be taking a big risk with Pikeru, but I think I will be able to take it. "Pikeru, attack his on guard monster!" Pikeru attacked with a blast of white magic and suddenly a clown wearing a suite and a large hat appeared on the field. (500/1200)

Sonomi grimaced when she saw the monster. "Peten, the Dark Clown," she said dryly.

"Yes, you are quite familiar with this card aren't you?" he asked Sonomi. "In any case, their points are matched, nothing happens."

"I can see that," Kokuro said. "I end my turn."

"And now it's my turn," Tejin said drawing his card. "I sacrifice Peten in order to summon this card!" he called out as his dark clown vanished. Pink energy swirled around where Peten had just stood and as Kokuro guessed in his mind, Black Magician Girl appeared standing next to Black Magician. (2000/1700) "And now I will also remove my Peten from the Graveyard in order to special summon my last one from my deck." The dark clown appeared on the field once again and gave Kokuro a raspberry. "Finally I'll play Sealing Swords of Light!" Six shining swords fell down from the sky and surrounded Kokuro. "Try escaping from these, my move is done."

Kokuro drew his card and then Pikeru began to glow. "Since I have 3 magicians on the field Pikeru grants me 1200 Life Points," he said as his Life Points increased. (6200) "Also, my Skilled White Magician gained 1 Spell Counter when you activated those swords." Kokuro looked at his 1 card and his field. "I have no other moves."

"Fine, then it's my turn," Tejin said chuckling as he drew his card. "I activate Card of Sanctity!" he called out. "So, now we are each forced to draw cards until we have 6 in our hand," Tejin drew 6 cards while Kokuro drew 5. "I summon Magicians Valkaria." A female magician that looked much like the Black Magician Girl except for parts of its robes and its staff appeared on the field. (1600/1800) "Thanks to the special effect of my Magicians Valkaria, you can't attack any of my other Spellcasters. Not that you can attack at the moment anyway," he chuckled ending his turn.

Kokuro glared and drew his card and was surprised to see it. It was the new Hane Kuriboh he had won from the Scavenger Hunt. It seemed to let out a cry as well; he turned to look at Sonomi and Mia who seemed to have heard it too. 'It sounds a tad different this time,' Kokuro thought to himself. 'Probably because it is a different kind of Kuriboh.'

"Well, it's time to show you what I've got! First off when you activated Card of Sanctity you gave my Skilled White Magician it's second counter. Next Pikeru grants me another 1200 Life Points," he said as Pikeru began to glow. (7400) "Next I'll activate Spell Absorption" Kokuro said. He then took a card from his hand and lifted it in the air. "I activate Fusion, allowing me to fuse the Buster Blader in my hand and the Black Magician on my field into the mighty Black Paladin!" Buster Blader appeared next to the captivated Black Magician and then they swirled together. From the swirling vortex came a sword-carrying magician whose robes seemed to be combined with armor. (2900/2400)

Tejin let out a curse under his breath, "My Black Magician Girl gains 300 attack points because your Black Magician is now in the Graveyard," he said as he watched the mighty magician appear on the field. (2300/1700)

"Because I activated a Spell Card I'm granted 500 extra Life Points," Kokuro said smiling. (7900) "And since I activated 2 more spell cards Skilled White Magician gains his last spell counter giving it 3, which means I can offer it up to bring back Buster Blader!" Skilled White Magician vanished and Buster Blader took its place. (2600/2300)

"This is incredible!" Mia said.

"And since all of that was due to special summoning I'll also summon Spear Dragon," he said as suddenly his blue and white dragon appeared on the field. (1900/0) "Thanks to my Black Paladin's ability it also gains 500 attack points for Spear Dragon being present on the field." He watched as Black Paladin's attack power increased. (3400/2400) "Unfortunately you still have your Swords of Light on the field, but once those are gone, I'll be free to attack you. I end my turn." The second turn for the swords passed and Kokuro smiled knowing that he would be able to attack again soon.

Tejin drew his card but didn't bother looking at it. "I summon another Magicians Valkaria!" he called out as the second magician appeared on the field. "And now I'm perfectly ready for when you try to attack me," he said smiling.

"Don't be so sure about that," Kokuro said drawing his card as Pikeru began to glow. "I have 2 magicians, one dragon, and a warrior on the field for a total of 4 monsters," he said as his life points increased. (9500) He looked down at it the card he had drawn and smiled. "I summon Blast Magician," he called out as a magician in red robes holding a scythe appeared on the field. (1400/1700) "Next I'll gain the ability to attack early by using my Mystical Space Typhoon!" A gust of wind appeared on Kokuro's side of the field. It blew the swords away and Kokuro watched as his Blast Magician began to glow and his Life Points increase (10000). "And now that I can attack! Black Paladin, attack his Black Magician!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk" Tejin said. "Have you forgotten the ability of my Magicians Valkaria? It makes it so that you have to attack her in order to attack any of my other Spellcasters. Oh, and before you embarrass yourself some more, let me warn you that Magicians Valkaria are also Spellcasters."

"I figured that much," he said growling. Then it occurred to him what having two Magicians Valkarias on the field meant, "wait, that means that I can't attack at all!"

"Bingo," Tejin said smiling. "You may have impressed your friends by summoning all those monsters at once, but because of my two magicians, they can't do a single thing."

"Don't get cocky," Kokuro said. "Remember, thanks to my Wall of Revealing Light, you can't attack me either. We're at a stand off, the difference is that I will continue to gain Life Points while you won't." Kokuro looked down at Hane Kuriboh, 'and I have you if needed,' he said smiling.

Tejin drew his card and looked down at it. "I activate Double Spell, by discarding my Serial Spell I'm allowed to activate one Spell Card from your Graveyard, and I choose your Mystical Space Typhoon!" he said as he dropped the magic card from his hand and a wind began to blow through the field.

'I need to make a quick decision, do I let him go through with this? It will power up my Blast Magician, but then again, if he has something else planned...' "I drop my Shadow Spell trap from my hand to negate the activation of your Double Spell using the powers of my Black Paladin." The Black Paladin's sword began to glow and it slashed Double Spell Card that was emitting the wind. "My Black Paladin's effect negated your Spell Card," Kokuro said.

"I counted on you doing that," Tejin said chuckling. "For now I can activate Pot of Greed," he said chuckling as he drew his two cards. His chuckling then turned into an all out laughter. "This is excellent," he said holding up his cards. "I sacrifice my last Peten so that I can summon Magical Marionette!" he called out as a Spellcaster wearing gray armor and a red cape with strings controlling puppets appeared on the field. (2000/1000) "This guys effect is normally bad news for anyone that gets in my way but he's merely here for a tribute," Tejin said. "I play Metamorphosis!" he said as he slid the card in. "Using this I change my Magical Marionette into Flame Swordsman!" he said as the sword-wielding warrior appeared on the field. (1800/1600)

Kokuro watched as his Blast Magician gained 2 more spell counters and his life points went up but he was more worried about what was in Tejin's hand. (11000) "You're not doing what I think you're doing are you?" he asked.

"You mean play this? Fusion!"

"Great," Kokuro said sarcastically.

"Now behold as my Flame Swordsman and my Black Magician fuse together to create the mighty Black Flare Knight!" A tall knight in flowing black robes, a red helmet and shield with a flame design, and a long, thin sword appeared on the field. (2200/800)

Kokuro watched as his Blast Magician gained another spell counter and watched as his Life Points went up by 500 more. (11500) "This could be pretty bad," he said.

"Could be?" Tejin asked. "Kokuro for you this _is _bad!" he laughed out loud as Mia looked on worriedly.

"Kokuro still has a chance right?" she asked Sonomi.

"Of course he does," she said. "He's beaten people harder than this.

"My Black Magician Girl gains 300 attack points for the Black Magician now in my Graveyard. (2600/1700) Don't think I don't know about your Blast Magician's special ability, so I'll switch my two Magicians Valkaria, and my Black Magician Girl on guard. I end my turn Kokuro, but next turn I take you out."

Kokuro drew his card and looked down at it, it was Apprentice Magician. 'I don't have any place to play you,' he thought. 'I don't know what he plans on doing about my Wall of Light, but it seems as though he has a plan. Well, I might as well begin my turn.'

"First off White Magician Pikeru gives me an extra 2000 Life Points for the 5 monsters on my side of the field," Kokuro said as his Life Points rose. (13500) "Next I'll remove the Spell Counters on my Blast Magician to destroy one of your Magicians Valkaria!" he said as the Magician's scythe began to be engulfed in flame. It swung the scythe at the female magician causing her to explode. "Now that I have the ability to attack again, I'll send my Black Paladin to attack your Black Magician Girl!" he called out.

"Don't forget you still have to get past my other Magician's Valkaria," Tejin said snidely.

"Very well, Buster Blader, attack his Magicians Valkaria!" he called out as Buster Blader slashed its sword across the magician destroying her. "Next I'll send my Black Paladin to attack your Black Magician Girl," he called out. The Paladin rose it's own sword and let out a surge of magic that destroyed the Black Magician Girl. "I'll switch my Blast Magician, Pikeru, and Spear Dragon on guard," Kokuro said as his monsters shifted their positions. "That ends my turn."

"And that makes it mine," Tejin said drawing his card. "Oh what luck, I just happen to have some very useful cards in my hand," he said snickering. "Like this, Breaker the Magical Warrior!" A knight in red armor carrying a sword appeared on the field. (1900/1000) "Breaker automatically comes onto the field with one spell counter and that spell counter gives him 300 extra attack points making him a 1900. I can remove this spell counter in order to destroy one Spell or Trap card on the field," he said snickering. "I'm sure you can guess which one I'm after. Say goodbye to Wall of Revealing Light!" he called out as Breakers sword began glowing. It swung its sword at the Wall of Light card destroying it causing the actual wall to vanish.

"Kokuro's in trouble now!" Mia exclaimed.

"He's still got a lot of Life Points," Sonomi said. "He's not out of this yet."

"I set one card under the table," Tejin said snickering. "Now Breaker, destroy White Magician Pikeru!" Breaker swung his sword at the small girl destroying her. "Now, what do I do next? Oh yes I remember, Black Flare Knight, attack his Buster Blader!" The Black Flare Knight clashed swords with the Buster Blader. They fought for a moment before the Buster Blader knocked the sword out of Black Flare Knight's hand and destroyed him. "And thanks to my Knights special ability I take no damage," he said smiling. "And now, also thanks to my knight being destroyed, I can summon this mighty monster, Mirage Knight!" he called out as a knight in black robes fitted with golden armor and a large golden scythe appeared on the field (2800/2000) "I'm sure you know what happens now?"

"You use your Mirage Knight's special ability right?"

"That's right," Tejin said smirking. "Go Mirage Knight, attack his Black Paladin!" Tejin called out. The Knight ran towards the Black Paladin and they clashed swords. "During damage calculation, my Mirage Knight gains the amount of attack points that your Black Paladin has," he said chuckling. He watched as his Mirage Knight gained 3400 attack points. (6200/2000) The Mirage Knight ended up knocking the sword out of Black Paladin and slashing across its chest destroying it. "And now you lose 2800 Life Points!" Tejin said laughing.

Kokuro growled as his Life Points reduced. (10700) "Don't get too excited," he said to him. "Your Mirage Knight disappears and is removed from play at the end of your turn."

"Which is why I had this to watch after it," he said as his face down card flipped up. "Book of Moon!" he said as suddenly his Mirage Knight disappeared and was replaced by a horizontal card. "My Book of Moon forces a monster to go face down on guard, which will cancel out the effect of my Mirage Knight. Now I will reverse it," he said as the Mirage Knight reappeared on the field. (2800/2000) "And now, with that I end my turn," he said laughing as his Mirage Knight stayed on the field.

Kokuro didn't like the way this duel was turning out, 'I can't lose,' he thought. 'Not after I put my Black Magician on the line.' "I won't let my partner down," Kokuro said looking down at his Graveyard. He pulled his card and heard the sound of Kuriboh. He looked down and smiled at his card. "First when you activated Book of Moon I gained 500 Life Points. (11200) Next I switch my Spear Dragon to attack mode," he said as his Spear Dragon regained its attack stance. "Now Spear Dragon, attack his Breaker!" The Spear Dragon let out a vortex of wind that connected with Breaker destroying it.

"No matter, it's only 300 Life Points," Tejin said laughing. (4700)

"With my Spear Dragon's effect it switches on guard now," Kokuro said re-shifting his Spear Dragon. "Next I'll switch my Buster Blader on guard," he said watching as his Buster Blader took a defensive stance. "Lastly I'll place one on guard and end my turn," he said as his card appeared on the field. "That ends my turn," he said.

Tejin chuckled as he drew his card, "You know, I don't care if you beat Professor Hikari, you're a push over, and I'm going to prove it," he said chuckling. "I activate Monster Reborn, and I'll bring back my Black Magician Girl!" he said as his Magician Girl reappeared on the field. (2600/1700) Kokuro also gained 500 Life Points when he had activated Monster Reborn (11700) "Now I summon Gemini Elf!" he yelled as a pair of Elves appeared on the field. (1900/900) "Go my Elves, destroy that Spear Dragon!" the two elves kicked the dragon in it's chest destroying it. "Now go my Black Magician Girl, destroy Buster Blader!" The Black Magician Girl let out a ball of pink energy as it released it at Buster Blader destroying it. Kokuro growled as he watched Tejin take him apart.

"I can't lose," he said to himself. 'Luckily I have my Apprentice Magician on the field,' he thought to himself.

"I don't want to lose Mirage Knight so I'll end my turn," Tejin said.

'He's leaving me with a monster that could be used as a sacrifice,' he thought. 'He must really put a lot of faith in that Mirage Knight. Well I'll show him.' "DRAW!" Kokuro announced as he drew his card. He looked down and smiled, "This is what I'm talking about," Kokuro said as his Graveyard began to shine. "I remove my Skilled White Magician and my Archfiend Soldier from my Graveyard in order to special summon my Chaos Sorcerer!"

"NO!" Tejin shouted as the purple skinned mage appeared on the field with it's black cape flowing.

"Oh yes," he said smiling. "Now, use your special ability to remove Mirage Knight from the game!" Kokuro called out. Chaos Sorcerer began chanting and the Mirage Knight was placed inside of a glowing sphere. The sphere began to vanish along with the Mirage Knight. "I just sent it out of play, right where it belongs," Kokuro said smiling. He then took his Hane Kuriboh from his hand, "I set one on guard and that ends my turn,"

Tejin growled, "Don't think you are getting away with this," he said as he drew his card. "I hope you haven't forgotten about my Black Magician Girl," he said. "She is the strongest card in play at the moment, you have no way of getting past her."

"We'll see about that," Kokuro said.

"You're right, we will, and I'm willing you won't be able to do a thing about it. Especially not after I activate Magic Formula," he said laughing as a thick, blue book with a lock appeared in front of the Black Magician Girl. The book opened and she began to read it. As she did her attack points increased. (3100/1700) "Magic Formula increases any Spellcasters attack that it is equipped to by 500."

"And because you played a Spell Card I gained 500 Life Points," Kokuro said smiling. (12200)

"It won't matter in the long run. So now Black Magician Girl, wipe out that sorcerer!" he called out as the magician girl let loose a ball of pink magic that collided with the sorcerer destroying him.

Kokuro had to shield himself from the wind as his Life Points decreased. (11400) "I will find a way past your magician girl," Kokuro said growling.

"Yeah right," Tejin mocked. "You've run out of options, admit it," he said laughing.

Kokuro looked down at his deck, 'I still have one way left,' he thought looking at his deck.

"Gemini Elf, attack the monster on his right!" The elves ran towards the card as Apprentice Magician appeared on the field. They kicked the magician in its chest destroying it.

"Thanks to my Apprentice Magician going to the graveyard I can now take a Spellcaster with…"

"I know how the card works, just get on with your move." Kokuro nodded and selected his last Apprentice Magician placing it face down on guard. Tejin smiled, "I end my turn for now, but be prepared, because you won't be getting through this with your Black Magician."

"We'll see about that," Kokuro narrowing his eyes. He drew his card and his eyes widened, 'This is the magician that will beat him,' he thought to himself. 'Now all I need to do is get the right summoning requirements on the field.' "I pass my turn," he said.

Tejin drew his card and looked at it, 'this might come in handy,' he thought. "I set one card under the table," he said as his card appeared. "Now, Black Magician Girl, attack that Apprentice Magician!" The magician girl fired another ball of pink energy at the Apprentice Magician destroying her. Kokuro selected his Old Vindictive Magician and placed it face down on guard. "Gemini Elf, attack the monster previously set!" The elves ran towards the card as Hane Kuriboh appeared. They kicked it destroying it, "HA! So much for that hairball. Make your move."

'My Old Mage is the only monster I have left,' he said looking down at the card. 'I need something that can stall him a bit longer.' Kokuro drew his card and smiled, "this is what I needed," he said smiling. "I lay one card under the table and end my turn."

"Pathetic," Tejin said drawing. "Looks like I get to keep my Magician Girl," he said chuckling. "I activate Nobleman of Crossout! Now your face down monster gets removed from play and any cards of the same name that either of us have in our decks are sent directly to the Graveyard." A man in silver armor holding a long sword appeared and sliced the card that Kokuro had on the field. The Old Vindictive Magician was destroyed and Kokuro put it in his pocket as he took his others and put them in his pocket as well. Tejin also searched his deck for his three and slid them into his pocket. "A small price to pay to eradicate a large portion of your Life Points," he chuckled.

"Don't bet on it," Kokuro said. "I gained another 500 Life points from your Spell Card." (11900)

"As if you have anything else to stop me, that face down is a bluff. Black Magician Girl, attack the player!"

"Reverse Sleepy Sheep!" Kokuro called out as 4 colorful sheep appeared on the field. The Magician Girl blasted one of them away and Tejin just chuckled. "And what is so funny?"

"The fact that you think those sheep are going to make a difference in the end."

"They will," he said smiling. "For at the moment they give me 2 turns to draw the cards I need and they also gave me 500 more Life Points," he said as his Life Points increased once again. (12400)

"You may have a large number of Life Points, but it won't do any good once I demolish your sheep. Gemini Elf, attack one of those sheep!" The elves ran forward and kicked one of the sheep destroying it in mid air. "That's all for me," he grinned.

Kokuro drew his card and looked at it, 'Premature Burial,' he thought. 'This is the second card I need, but I need one more.' "I pass again."

"My turn then," Tejin said drawing. "Perfect," he chuckled. "I activate Soul Release."

"Before you remove monsters from my Graveyard remember that I first gain 500 Life Points," Kokuro said as his Life Points increased. (12900)

"Nice guess but unfortunately for you I am removing cards from my own Graveyard."

"Why would he do that Sonomi?" Mia asked.

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "I can't think of any good reason for him to do it."

"Using Soul Release I remove Magicians Valkaria, Black Magician, and Black Flare Knight." At this point Tejin had begun to laugh loudly, "and now it's time for you all to see why I did this. I reverse my face down Dimension Fusion."

"Dimension Fusion?" Kokuro asked.

"Yes, at the cost of 2000 of my Life Points, (2700) we are now allowed to summon to the field as many monsters as possible that were removed from play."

"That's why he did it!" Sonomi shouted. "He took out all his strong monsters only to bring them to the field."

"Precisely, so now I summon Black Magician, Magician's Valkaria, and Black Flare Knight!" All of Tejin's magicians suddenly appeared on the field staring Kokuro down. "So, what do you think?"

"I think you forgot some several key points," Kokuro said. "The first is that that I too have removed monsters. The second is that by doing this you have also given me another 500 Life Points. (13400) The third is that you have now weakened your Black Magician Girl, (2800/1700) So now I will bring Skilled White Magician and Archfiend Soldier to the field, both on guard." Kokuro's two cards appeared on the field in a defensive stance.

"I don't care that you have monsters now," he said snickering. "Because I am about to knock them back down. Magicians Valkaria, attack Archfiend Soldier!" The Magician shot a green blast of magic out at the Archfiend monster. "Black Flare Knight will attack your White Magician!" he said as the knight slashed its sword at the white robed magician. "Black Magician Girl and Gemini Elf will attack your two remaining sheep," he said as the magician girl fired a blast of magic and the elves kicked another sheep. "And Black Magician will attack _you_!" The Magician let loose a blast of dark green magic that hit Kokuro causing him to scream out. (10900) "On my next turn your Life Points are history, so make your final move," he said laughing.

Kokuro looked down at his hand, 'I still have my Kuriboh to save me,' he thought looking down at it. "Draw!" He called out. "I set one monster on guard," he said as he placed his newly drawn card on the field. "I end my turn."

Tejin drew snickering, "I wouldn't be surprised if that was a high defense monster, so I'll attack it with Black Flare Knight!" The knight ran forward and slashed a woman in yellow robes, with green hair, and holding a large harp. "Looks like your fairy couldn't help you," he laughed. "Black Magician, Gemini Elf, Magicians Valkarian, and Black Magician Girl, attack the player!" All the magicians prepared their magic blasts as the elves began to run up to him. The elves kicked him in the stomach as the other magical blasts went flying right towards him.

"I discard Kuriboh from my hand in order to block the attack of your Black Magician Girl," he said, as Kuriboh appeared crying out as it took the pink blast. Kokuro screamed in pain as the light and dark green magical blasts hit him dead on forcing him on his knees. (4900) "Next turn for sure you will lose and your Black Magician will be mine."

Kokuro closed his eyes, 'I don't have anyway I can win,' he thought. 'The only hope was in my hand, but I don't have the cards needed to summon it. Even if I drew my next card, I doubt that I will be able to use it. I can't believe I risked my Black Magician, now I'm going to lose it.'

"Kokuro, don't give up!" Mia called out. "I know it seems hard, but you just have to trust in yourself or you'll never win."

"Show this rookie who the _real _Magician Master is!" Sonomi yelled as well.

Kokuro just kept his eyes closed, 'I know they are trying to cheer me up, but nothing I do now is going to make a difference.'

"Kokuro you better make your move!" Sonomi yelled at him. He looked up at her confused. "You haven't even drawn your card yet! How can you even think about giving up?"

"I know my deck," he said to her. "I know I can't win."

"Kokuro Samé, if you give up now then maybe you don't really belong in Ra Yellow."

Kokuro was shocked, he couldn't believe what she was saying. 'She's right. I didn't get to Ra Yellow by giving up.' Kokuro heard the sound of both Kuriboh and Hane Kuriboh from his Graveyard. 'Even the Kuribohs are telling me not to give up.' Kokuro stood up and drew his card, and what he saw caused his eyes to widen. 'I forgot all about this card,' he thought to himself. 'I put it into my deck before the trip but didn't even realize it.' He looked up at Tejin as a smile spread across his face.

"What are you smiling about?" Tejin asked angrily.

"Lets just say I had a change of heart, much like this card," he said raising it into the air. "I activate Change of Heart!" The card appeared on the field and suddenly Tejin's Black Magician's eyes glazed over. The Magician then walked over to Kokuro's side of the field making Kokuro smile. "As you might have guessed, Change of Heart allows me to take control of one of your monsters. Plus for activating a Spell Card I gain 500 Life Points. (5400) Now, I have another Spell to activate, Premature Burial! I may lose 800 Life Points but I also gain 500. (5100) So now I bring back my own Black Magician," he said as his Black Magician appeared on the field. And now that I have the right requirements I offer up both Black Magicians." Both of the magicians vanished and Kokuro placed a card onto his Duel Disk. Magic energy erupted from the spot where the two magicians had been and suddenly a black robed figure with a scepter in his hand appeared on the field. (3200/2800)

"What is that thing?" Tejin asked nervously.

"This is the Sorcerer of Black Magic," Kokuro said. "He is so powerful that he could only be summoned by offering up two Level 6 Spellcasters or higher. True now that both Black Magicians are in the Graveyard again your Black Magician Girl gains more attack points but it's still not strong enough to take out my Sorcerer of Black Magic. (3100/1700)"

"That thing is strong!" Mia gasped.

"I didn't know he had something like _that _in his deck!" Sonomi said shocked.

"Sorcerer of Black Magic, use your Scepter Blast Attack on Tejin's Magicians Valkarian!" The sorcerer let out a stream of magical fire from his scepter that blasted the female magician destroying her.

Tejin had to ground himself from being thrown back as his Life Points decreased. (1100) "Where did you get a card like that?" Tejin asked.

"I have my ways," Kokuro said smiling. "Now, I end my turn."

Tejin drew his card and looked down at it growling. When he looked down at his card he smiled. "I set one card under the table and end my turn."

"I guess the awesomeness of my Sorcerer made you forget to switch your other magicians," Kokuro said drawing his card. "Sorcerer, Scepter Blast Attack, destroy his Gemini Elf and win me this duel!"

"So predictable," Tejin said laughing. "Now you will lose, Reverse Holy Barrier Mirror Force!" A multicolor glass appeared in front of all of Tejin's monsters. "Now your Sorcerer is destroyed!" he said laughing.

"Oh no, Kokuro was so close," Mia said. However Kokuro began laughing even harder than Tejin. "What's he laughing about?"

The Sorcerer shot another stream of magical fire that went straight for the mirror. However instead of being reflected the flame blew the mirror apart and continued to go towards the Gemini Elf. The elves screamed in pain as they were destroyed and Tejin's Life Points were depleted. (0) "I…I don't believe it," Tejin said amazed. "Why didn't my Mirror Force work?"

"Remember when I said my Sorcerer was super strong? Not only does he have a lot of attack points but he also has the ability to choose which Traps do and don't work. So he decided not to let your Mirror Force work. Which means my Sorcerer didn't get destroyed and you lost the last of your Life Points. That means that I win and I also get your Black Magician!"

"No way…" Tejin said slowly falling to his knees. "I don't understand…how did you get such strong cards?"

"I could ask you the exact same question," Kokuro said holding out his hand to help Tejin up. "You are an awesome duelist. I almost lost because you have such excellent strategies going."

Tejin looked up at Kokuro and smiled a bit for the first time, a real smile. He took Kokuro's hand and stood up. "Thanks, that means a lot. As for how I got my cards, when you are a student at Duelist Academy you get many good cards, but as for the Black Magician itself, I had entered a magician users tournament and it was one of the 1st place prizes. Needless to say I won the tournament."

"Wait, you mean the one that was held in the United States?" Kokuro asked a bit excitedly.

"Yeah, were you participating in that?"

"I _wanted _too!" Kokuro said slightly frustrated. "But I got really sick when it was time to go and I missed out."

"So, now you know how I got my Black Magician, how did you get yours?"

"My uncle gave it to me for my birthday a few years back, along with my Black Magician Girl. As I said the other day, my uncle has his own magic shop and he does magic tricks. One day one of the people he had done a big magic show for told him that his guests enjoyed the show so much that they all got together and saved up some money to purchase the rare Black Magician and Black Magician Girl for him. My cousin doesn't play Duel Monsters but he knew that I did so on my birthday that year he gave them to me. He told me he thought I was destined to have them."

"So you got them for free?" Tejin said a little annoyed.

"Yeah I guess so," he said.

"Well, I guess I'll be going," Tejin said as he started to walk away.

"Not so fast!" Sonomi yelled at him. "You haven't given Kokuro your Black Magician yet!"

"Oh come on," Tejin said turning around. "He already has one, why should I have to give up mine?"

"Because, had he lost you would have taken his without a second thought," Sonomi said crossing his arms. "Now that you lost you are being a sore loser and trying to get out of giving him your Black Magician. Well it's not going to work now give him the Black Magician. It was your idea in the first place so you have no one to blame but yourself."

Tejin let out a low growl; he took out his deck and tossed his Black Magician at Kokuro. "Here take it," he said as Kokuro caught it between his index and middle finger. "I'll get it back someday though, mark my words" he said as he walked off.

Sonomi walked over to Kokuro, "Well, seems as though you now have another Black Magician," she said looking down at it. "What are you going to do with it?"

"I don't know," Kokuro said looking at it as well. "I think having two would tip the balance of my deck, so I guess I'll just hold onto it for now. Who knows, maybe I'll find some kind of use for it in a different way," he said as he placed took out his binder and put it in carefully.

"Well," Mia said. "Since we are in a volleyball court, why don't we play some volley ball?" she asked.

"Game on!" Kokuro said excitedly.

"Are we invited?" Yaku asked walking up to them with Elda.

"Of course," Mia said. "Just be prepared to lose!"

"You seem really excited a

bout this," Sonomi pointed out. 

"Used to play Volleyball in high school," she said giving them a peace sign and smile.

"Oh, Elda," Kokuro said standing up and taking a card from his binder. "I'm sure you have this already, being as how you are the product manager at I2, but I wanted to give this to you as a thanks," he said handing her the card.

"Triangle Ecstasy Spark?" she asked looking at the card. "This card works for my Harpie Lady Sisters," she said.

"Yeah," he said. "I hope you don't already have it."

"I don't as a matter of fact, thank you Kokuro."

"You're welcome." Suddenly a beach ball was thrown at his face and Kokuro just barely caught it.

"You going to stand around all day and talk or are we going to play some volleyball?" Sonomi asked.

"Heck yeah we are!" Kokuro said.

"Then lets get this game started!" Mia exclaimed.

* * *

A/N: Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Holiday! 


	16. Kahou's Incredible Time Deck

Sdrive: I own the story idea but I do not own the Yugioh Franchise. However, the cards a certain Duelist uses in this chapter were created by me and are completely original. Any Relationship to cards already created by another person is completely coincidental. The only card that you might recognize comes from a card inspired by the original Yugioh show. All true creative credit goes to Kazuki Takahashi, and I'm not talking about Time Wizard.

* * *

After an exhausting game of Volleyball it was time to head back towards the camp. It would be dark soon and they had to get moving. As the group was walking back to through the forest towards the volcano Kokuro, Sonomi, Mia, Yaku, and Elda were talking about the Volleyball game.

"Looks like I really took it to you," Mia said laughing at Kokuro.

"Yeah stop rubbing it in," he said to her.

"I'm sorry," she said smiling. "It's just that I completely destroyed you…"

"Ok I get it!" Kokuro said frustrated while Mia just laughed.

They decided to talk about random things while they headed over the Volcano. After they were over the Volcano the group took a short break. They needed their energy back so they sat down to have dinner. The sun was starting to set and they would have to travel the rest of the way at night. While the group was eating dinner a boy came up to them in an Osiris Red outfit. "Hey Kokuro!" the kid said.

"Um…do I know you?" Kokuro asked.

The kid fell onto his face. He stood up and stared at Kokuro, "First you fall on me on the boat and then I cheer you on when you face Professor Hikari and you _still _don't remember me."

"Wait…you're Kahou aren't you!" Kokuro exclaimed.

"Glad to see you finally recognize me, I've been waiting for you to come talk to me ever since the ghost story but you never did. So I finally came to talk to you."

"I am so sorry!" Kokuro exclaimed. "I've been really busy recently."

"Yeah so I've heard," Kahou said laughing. "You're the talk of the Osiris Red dorm."

"And why is that?" he asked.

"Well, you are a first year, and the first one ever to be immediately placed into Ra Yellow. Everyone in the Osiris Red dormitory looks up to you. Well, everyone except Ritsuzen of course."

"What do you mean?" Kokuro asked.

"You mean you didn't hear? Ritsuzen was demoted to Osiris Red, then again, no one ever sees him because he has his own room with his tutor. It doesn't change the fact that he's there though."

"So Ritsuzen was demoted all the way to Osiris Red because he lost to me?" Kokuro wondered.

"It's not for certain but that's what the rumor is," Kahou said.

"I guess that is why I haven't seen him around the Obelisk Blue Dormitory," Yaku said.

"He must be really angry," Kokuro said.

"So who cares?" Sonomi said. "If he comes after you again you can easily beat him."

"I doubt it would be easy," Kokuro said. "He was really strong and he almost beat me."

"I'm sure you could beat him again," Elda said putting her hand on his shoulder. "Besides, it's just a game, nothing to get too worked up about."

"I didn't say I was worried, I was just saying it wouldn't be so easy."

"I know, I'm just reminding you that it's a game," Elda said.

"I recognize you," Kahou said to Elda. "You're Elda Narabi! You used to go to the academy."

"Your last name is Narabi?" Kokuro asked Yaku.

"Yep. Didn't I tell you that?" Yaku said.

"No, you just introduced yourself as Yaku."

"I guess it just slipped my mind," Yaku said.

Elda turned to Kahou "I'm impressed, how did you know that?"

"I read about you in my Duelist Class."

"What is Duelist Class?" Kokuro asked.

"It's a class where we study famous Duelists and the different duels they've been in," Kahou explained.

"That sounds like a cool class. I sure wish I had signed up for that," Kokuro said.

"You still can," Kahou said. "It's an elective, that means that you can sign up for it in the second semester. It's only one semester long."

"Cool," Kokuro said, "I'll have to look into that."

"They also teach about duelists that have been in the school if they were really good."

"That class sounds awesome," Mia said.

"I remember that class," Elda said. "I never knew I would be studied in it," she said laughing.

"Ever since I read about you I realized you were an awesome duelist. You were one of only two duelists to ever bring out a Harpie Deck's true power. I would love to duel you one day."

"Well, you seem like a nice enough kid, even if you are in Osiris Red, I'd be happy to duel you."

"Don't be fooled by my rank as an Osiris Red student. My grades may be bad and I may only study other peoples strategies but my dueling is no laughing matter."

"Well, you sure seem confident, I think I'll definitely enjoy this duel," she said smiling.

Just then Suji-Sensei walked over to the group, "Your duel will have to wait until tomorrow, we are about to head off again," he said.

"I guess we have to wait," Elda said.

"I've waited this long, I can wait a bit longer," Kahou said smiling. The group started walking again while Kokuro and Kahou caught up.

"So, I'm really the talk of the Osiris Red Town?"

"You bet," Kahou said. "So, what's the Ra Yellow dorm like?"

"It's pretty nice," Kokuro said. "What is Osiris Red like?"

"It's small and cramped, there isn't a lot of room, and it's more like a small apartment building than a dormitory."

"Wow, that really stinks," Kokuro said. "I didn't think you had made it in the Entrance Exams since I didn't see you at the welcoming ceremony."

"I was late to the ceremony actually. Plus I almost didn't make it past the exams. I scored horribly on my test. What got me in were my dueling abilities."

"I thought you said that you had studied a lot to make sure you would get into the academy."

"I said I had studied the different teachers to see what my best chances for beating them was. My hobby is studying other duelists and watching how their decks work, but I do real badly when taking tests. Good thing my deck is really good."

"Well, I can't wait to see your deck in action," Kokuro said.

"Thanks."

* * *

By the time the students got back to the campsite everyone was exhausted and it was really late. They all went straight to their tents and went to bed. They all slept in pretty late and when they woke up Suji-Sensei could tell that no one was really up for another hike anytime soon. He gave the students free time to do whatever they wanted, which was exactly what Elda and Kahou wanted. Elda and Kahou were standing on separate sides of each other with Duel Disks on their arms.

"Well Kahou, I know you are really excited about this duel, but don't be disappointed if you lose," Elda said.

"Don't worry, I won't lose," Kahou said.

"I like your attitude," Elda said smiling. They shuffled their decks and inserted them into the Duel Disk. They turned their disks on and they folded out. "Duel!" They called out. "I'll begin," Elda said drawing her 6th card. 'Not the best hand, but I can make it work,' Elda said. "I summon Harpies Brother!" she said as a man with long strong wings appeared on the field letting out a battle cry. (1800/600) "Next I play Rising Air Current to make all Wind Type monsters gain 500 attack points and lose 400 Defense Points." The field card slot opened up and she placed her card inside. The slot slid closed and a gentle breeze began to blow throughout the field causing Harpies Brother to begin to float higher in the air. (2300/200) "With that I'll end my turn."

Kahou drew his 6th card and looked over his hand. "I summon Time Soldier!" He called out. A small monster with shiny white armor appeared. His chest plate had a silver clock on it, as did his white helmet. He had a gold shield made out of a clock in his left hand and a long silver sword on his right. (600/900) Elda's eyes widened slightly as the monster appeared on the field.

'That card…' she thought.

"Time Soldier?" Mia questioned. "I've never heard of a card like that have you Sonomi?"

"I've never heard of it either," Sonomi admitted.

"This little monster is allowed to attack your Life Points directly," Kahou said proudly. "However, I'm not done with him yet. I activate the Equip Spell Card Time Scepter." The Time Soldier re-sheathed his sword and a long blue scepter with prongs at the top holding a clock appeared in his hand. "This can only be equipped to a monster with "Time" in its name. It grants my monster an extra 300 attack points." Suddenly the clock on the scepter began to glow, as did the large clock-like shield and the clocks on the chest plate and helmet. (900/900)

"I see," Kokuro said, "He's strengthening the power of his soldier so that when it attacks directly it does more damage."

"I'm doing so much more than that Kokuro," Kahou said without taking his eyes off the field. "I activate the spell card Reset!"

'These cards…' Elda thought. 'I remember when these cards were released. There weren't many of them created so they are all considered rare. Could he just happen to have these cards in his deck, or does he truly have a Time Deck?'

"In order to activate this card, I need to pay 1000 Life Points," Kahou said as his Life Points dropped. (7000) "This card allows me to roll a die for one of my Time monsters with 1500 attack points or less. The number that comes up on the die is the number of times that monster can attack."

"No way!" Sonomi and Mia exclaimed.

"The downside is that if the result comes up a 6 my monster can not attack at all this turn." A die appeared on the field and began rolling in the air. It fell down onto the ground and landed on a three. "Well, it looks like my Time Soldier can attack three times this turn. So Time Soldier attack the player!" The hands on the clock on the scepter began to spin and different numbers came from the clock to hit Elda in the chest moving her backwards. (7100) "Now, attack again!" Kahou called out.

The monster lifted up its scepter and a hole appeared in the sky. The monster went through the hole and it closed up. Another hole appeared and the little monster appeared on the field again. It then repeated its attack and hit Elda in the chest again. (6200) "Attack again!" Kahou called out. The same series of events occurred again causing Elda to get hit in the chest once again. (5300) "I set one card under the table and that ends my turn," Kahou said smiling.

"Kahou's deck is amazing," Mia said.

"He got a good first hand," Sonomi said. "But I've never heard of any of these cards, lets see what else his deck can do."

"Elda drew her card and smiled. "Well, this looks promising," she said smiling as she held up a card. "I Summon Harpie Lady 1!" Elda said as her Harpie Lady appeared. (1800/1000) "And this girl allows all Wind Monsters an extra 300 attack points," she said as her two monsters gained attack points. Harpies Brother (2600/200), Harpie Lady 1 (2100/1000) "Now I'll play Elegant Egotist to summon Harpie Lady Sisters from my hand!" she said as the three harpies appeared on the field. (2750/1700) "Now it's time to make a comeback, Harpie Lady 1, attack Time Soldier!" The Harpie Lady flew towards the Time Soldier and slashed its claw at it. The Time Scepter was destroyed but the Time Soldier stayed on the field.

Kahou let out a growl as his Life Points fell, (5800). "If the monster my Time Scepter is attached to is about to be destroyed Time Scepter is destroyed instead," he explained as his Time Soldier's attack power dropped, (600/900).

"Harpies Brother, take care of that Time Soldier once and for all," she called out as the Harpies Brother flapped its wings and a strong gust went through the field and hit the Time Soldier destroying it." Kahou covered himself as his Life Points fell even farther (3800). "Harpie Lady Sisters, attack the player!"

"Harpies like to hunt in packs so I had a feeling I would have more to deal with, which is why I have this card ready for activation!" he called out as his trap card flipped up. "Time Freeze!" Suddenly the Harpie Lady Sisters were all frozen in place. "This card stops one of your monsters from being able to attack this turn. Next turn though your monster _has_ to attack _and_ it can attack a second time if you want it too."

"That's a really risky move," Kokuro said.

"He's risking this entire duel on this next draw."

"I set a card under the table and end my turn," Elda said.

Kahou drew his card and looked down at it. "I activate Pot of Greed," he said as he drew two additional cards. The two cards he drew made him smile a wide smile. "I'm sure you know about these cards, being the product manager of I2," Kahou said. "But for the others watching, here's a little 'history' lesson," he said chuckling at his own time related joke.

"As some of you might have guessed already, my deck uses special cards called "Time Cards," Kahou explained. "These cards are all rare and discontinued. There would have been more made but as the rumor goes someone screwed up in the office and the entire Time Design was destroyed. The only cards released where the ones in one specific booster pack, and only a few are still in circulation. Some might know of a card called Time Wizard. It was one of the few cards that were able to stay in circulation along with a few of the other cards in my deck. However some of the cards in here are rarer than others, because they were in one specific booster pack that got discontinued after the accident. Especially this one in my hand," he said holding up a card. "This card was thought to be so powerful that it was restricted to only 1 per deck. Not that there are many of this specific card anyway," he said smiling.

"Could it be?" Elda asked herself. Her eyes widened, "If he's holding what I think he is I could be in large trouble."

"Before I play this I need to have a monster on the field, so I play the Spell Card Past."

"Past?" Sonomi asked.

"What a weird name," Mia said.

"This allows me to take one monster with Time in its name from my graveyard to my hand," he said as he pulled his Time Soldier from his graveyard. "Next I summon Time Warrior," he said as a Warrior in less armor than the Time Soldier was in appeared on the field with a large sword. (1500/1300) "I play Time Mallet!" Kahou called out sliding the card into his Spell/Trap slot.

"Oh no!" Elda exclaimed.

Suddenly a large Mallet that looked like a Crockett Hammer with wings appeared with a clock on the top appeared on the field. The warrior sheathed its sword and took hold of the mallet. "I'm guessing by your expression that you know what it does but for the others over there I'll give an explanation anyway. This card can only activate when there is a Time monster on my side of the field. It equips to my monster and that is where it's special ability kicks in. The Time Warrior slammed the staff down in the middle of the field and a large green hole opened up. Suddenly three die's appeared from the middle of the hole and started rolling towards the three monsters. The die in front of Harpies brother landed on 2, the die front of Harpie Lady 1 landed on 5, and the one in front of the Harpie Lady Sisters landed on 3.

"So, what do those die's do?" Kokuro asked.

"These dies show the number of turns all her monsters will be removed from play!" Kahou said as suddenly the hole began to suck in air and all of her monsters were sucked into the hole. "Put simply, Harpies brother is gone for 2 turns, Harpie Lady Sisters are gone for 3 and Harpie Lady 1 is gone for 5. Unfortunately I'm not allowed to attack this turn and the counter goes down at the end of my turn. So I'll end my turn from here."

Elda drew her card and looked at what she drew, 'Card of Sanctity,' Elda thought to herself. 'We will both draw 5 cards and I really don't want to give him anymore than he needs, but I have nothing to do and I'll take a lot of damage next turn, so I have no choice.' "I play Card of Sanctity!" she called out as she activated the card. They both pulled out 5 cards from their deck and looked them over. "I summon Harpie Lady!" Elda called out as her monster appeared on the field. (1800/1000) Next I activate Elegant Egotist," she said as the card appeared on the field. "Now I summon Harpie Lady Sisters!" She called out as another set of Harpie Sisters appeared on the field. (2450/1700)

"Too bad you can't summon anymore monsters," Kahou said.

"What does he mean by that?" Kokuro asked Sonomi.

"Wish I could tell you," she said.

"The effect of Kahou's Time Mallet makes it so that my Monster Card Zones still count as occupied since they will be coming back during the turns they are supposed to," Elda explained. "Meaning that since three of them are still in use I can only summon two monsters."

"Oh," Mia said.

'Due to Time Warriors effect, I might be able to win this turn, but it all depends on what he does,' Elda thought. "I activate Triangle Ecstasy Spark!" Elda called out as she slid the card into the disk.

"That's the card you gave her," Sonomi said.

"And just wait until you see what it does," Kokuro said smiling.

"This card makes all Harpie Lady Sisters on my side of the field become a 2700 point monster," Elda said as her Harpies joined forces and formed a triangle as they gained attack points. (2700/1700) "If you had any trap cards you wouldn't be able to activate them now. Harpie Lady Sisters, wipe out that Time Warrior!"

"It's too bad, I know you know the effect of Time Warrior and that would have allowed you to win the game, but I'm not activating it."

"What effect?" Kokuro and Mia asked at the same time.

"When she is attacking it I can remove it from play for the rest of the turn. But that would cause a replay and she would be able to attack me directly. So I would lose, and I'm not about to do that." The Harpies created a triangle of energy and then a red X appeared in the triangle and it thrust forward blasting the Time Warrior. Kahou covered himself from the dust that had picked up and watched his Life Points fall. (2600)

"Now, Harpie Lady, attack the player!" The Harpie Lady flew forward and slashed Kahou across his chest knocking him backwards. (800) "I'm not done yet. I was saving this incase you did activate it's effect. I play Tribute Doll to sacrifice my Harpie Lady to summon Harpies Pet Dragon!" she yelled as the Harpie disappeared and suddenly a large red dragon appeared on the field roaring loudly. (2500/2100) "Plus it gains an extra 300 points for being next to Harpie Lady Sisters," she continued as the dragon got stronger (2800/2100) "That ends my turn," Elda said.

Kahou stood on his side of the field smiling. "Smart play waiting to summon the Pet Dragon," Kahou said. "I had a feeling you would do that," he said chuckling. "Unfortunately your Pet Dragon will fall this turn," he said.

"I can only think of two Time Cards that could do that. One is too risky and the second one you can't summon yet," she said.

"You really think you didn't get me the last necessary card for my ultimate move?" Kahou said.

"No way!" Elda said shocked.

"First, this wind is really annoying me," he said. "So I hope you don't mind if I change the field to my liking," he said. His field card slot opened up and he placed the card inside, the slot closed and the air immediately stopped blowing. Suddenly walls appeared around the field and everyone was inside of a large factory like building. There were many clock gears on conveyer belts and many machine-like equipment. There were also large gears all around the factory moving and working different machines. "Welcome to Clockworks," Kahou said.

"This is bad," Elda said as her Harpie Ladies attack power dropped (1950/2100) and so did her Harpies Pet Dragon dropped (2300/2500)

"And it only gets worse," Kahou said. I activate Present!" Kahou said as his spell card appeared on the field. "This card let's me special summon one monster with Time in it's name from my hand, and the card I chose is Time Adjuster!" He said as his monster appeared on the field. It was a monster with a dark black cape with a scepter similar to the Time Scepter. It had a long white beard and seemed to be a thin green ghost. (1300/1000) "Now for the special ability of Clock Works, it gives all monsters with Time in it's name an extra 500 attack points," Kahou said as the Time Adjuster's attack power rose. (1800/1000) "Also, Time Adjuster gains 200 attack points for every monster with Time in it's name," Kahou continued as Time Adjuster got stronger. (2000/1000)

"But there is more," Kahou continued. "I am now going to play another spell card, Future!"

"Here it comes," Elda said getting nervous.

"Future allows me to take a Time monster from my deck and add it to my hand," he said as he pulled out his deck and took the card. He shuffled his deck again and put it back in his Duel Disk. "The card I chose was Time Magician."

"Time Magician?" Kokuro asked getting interested.

Kahou looked past Elda at Kokuro, "Don't get excited, it wouldn't work in your deck. Now, Time Magician is a special card that can only be summoned through special summon. This card can only be special summoned if the cards Past, Present, and Future are in the graveyard. So now I summon Time Magician!" Kahou called out. Suddenly a portal opened up from the sky and a man that was wearing the classic robes of the Magicians came down onto the field, however he was adorned with clocks on his robes instead of the stones for Spell Counters. His staff was a large scepter also much like the Time Scepter. He had a large clock imprinted on the back of his cape. (2600/1900)

"This is bad," Elda said.

"Don't forget that since Clockworks is on the field my Time Magician gains an extra 500 attack points," Kahou said, as his Time Magician got stronger. (3100/1900) "Also Time Magician makes it so that neither player has to discard cards as a cost for Spells, Traps, and Monster Effects. Plus Time Adjuster also gains an extra 200 attack points now that another Time Monster is on the field. (2200/1000) I also have another monster to summon, Time Traveler!" Kahou called out as a man in a mechanical suite appeared on the field. (1000/1000)

"How is he summoning again?" Mia asked.

"Because everything he has done so far has been a special summon, so he can still regular summon," Sonomi said.

"Time Traveler gains 500 extra attack points and Time Adjuster now gains an extra 200 attack points," Kahou said. Time Traveler: (1500/1000) Time Adjuster: (2400/1000) "Time Adjuster, attack Harpie Lady Sisters!" Kahou called out as the Time Adjuster let loose a blast of magic from it's wand that had a bunch of numbers inside of it. The Harpie Lady Sisters were struck by the magic and a hole appeared in the sky sucking them inside before the hole closed up again. Elda watched as her Life Points dropped a bit and how the Harpies Pet Dragon lost attack points. LP: (4850), Harpies Pet Dragon: (2000/2500) "In case you didn't know, whenever Clockworks is on the field any monster destroyed by a Time Monster is removed from play. Also any Time Monster destroyed as a result of battle is also removed from play.

"That is such a strange effect," Mia said.

"It must have a special card that benefits from it," Kokuro said.

"Time Magician, attack the Pet Dragon!" Kahou called out. The magician raised its staff and the numbers of a clock began swirling around it. The numbers created a stream of energy that shot out at the dragon and destroyed it.

Elda was flung backwards as her Life Points fell again. (3750) "I'm not out of this yet," Elda said.

"You will be soon," he said. "Time Traveler, attack the player!" The Man put his arm forward and a small laser gun came out of the wrist piece. It shot out a blast of lightning that hit Elda in the chest. (2250) "I set one card under the table and now it's time to summon my last monster," Kahou called out.

"Another!" Kokuro, Mia, Sonomi, and Yaku called out.

"That's right," Kahou said. "Since I have Time Magician on the field I can special summon a special monster from my hand or deck as long as I sacrifice half of my total Life Points," he said. His Life Points dropped down and a portal in the sky opened up again. (400) Suddenly a monster that looked a lot like the Time Wizard came down onto the field. Its whole body was not round like Time Wizard and it actually had a head covered by a robe. It was much taller but it was made out of gears just like the Time Wizard. It had a long black cape and its staff was gold. (2800/2200) "Meet Time Master!" Kahou called out. "Don't forget that Clockworks also gives Time Master an extra 500 attack points. (3200/2200) Time Adjuster also gains attack points now that another Time Monster is on the field. (2600/1000) Due to the effect of Time Magician, when it uses it's power to summon Time Master I have to automatically end my turn."

"That would have been a good thing if Kahou hadn't already done everything he needed this turn," Mia said.

"That was why he waited until the end of his turn," Sonomi said.

Suddenly Harpies Brother came from the hole in the middle of the field and landed on Elda's side of the field. "You're Time Mallet's effect on my Harpies Brother has ended, she said. Elda drew her card and looked down at it, with a smile. "I activate Harpies Feather Duster!" She cried out as suddenly a large wind started to blow through the field.

"No!" Kahou said frustrated.

"Way to go Elda!" Mia cheered.

"You're tricky," Kahou said as his face down flipped up. "But I won't let you get the best of me so easily. I reverse my set Time Watch," he said as a watch appeared on the Time Traveler. The Time Traveler punched in a code on the watch and a Time Portal opened up and he was sucked inside. "Time Watch automatically removes one Time Traveler from play," Kahou explained. Suddenly the Time Portal opened up again and the Time Traveler came back to the field in a defensive stance.

"What just happened?" Sonomi asked.

"Wish I could tell you," Kokuro said. Mia nodded in agreement.

"Time Traveler travels through time to the future and trains for a while and then he comes back stronger. When Time Traveler is removed from play in anyway he comes back instantly with an extra 500 attack points," Kahou explained. "I can choose to bring him back in attack mode or on guard and I chose on guard." (2000/1000)

"That would explain Clockworks weird removal ability," Sonomi said.

Suddenly the wind started destroying the factory around them until they were in the middle of the field again and all the Time Monsters lost their power ups. Time Traveler: (1500/1000) Time Adjuster: (2100/1000) Time Magician: (2600/1900) Time Master: (2800/2200)

"I must say, you are the most accomplished Osiris Red student I have ever seen," Elda said to Kahou. "It was an honor to duel you but now the end of the duel most commence," she said.

"And just how do you plan to get past all my Time Monsters?" Kahou asked.

"Like this," she said as she slid a card into the Spell/Trap zone, "Fairy Meteor Crush!" she called out as she equipped the card to Harpies Brother.

"Oh no!" Kahou said as he looked at his Time Traveler with a measly 1000 defense points.

"Harpies Brother, destroy Time Traveler!" she called out as the Harpies Brother let loose a blast of wind that destroyed the Time Traveler and went on to hit Kahou in the chest knocking him backwards. (0) The holographic images fizzled away and Elda walked over to Kahou and extended her hand, "you are an accomplished duelist," she said smiling. "I can see you doing what Sonomi and Kokuro have done, by pass the meager existence of an Osiris Red life."

Kokuro looked over at Sonomi, "You exceeded Osiris Red?"

"No, I was in it the whole time, though I could have been promoted to Ra Yellow during the quarterly exams," she explained. "But I chose to stay in Osiris Red because I felt it was taking the easy way out," she said looking over at Kokuro and he started rubbing his hand behind his back and chuckled nervously.

"And so the puzzle is put together piece by piece," he said.

Sonomi draped her arm around Kokuro, "I'm kind of glad you are in Ra Yellow now that I have had the chance to know you," she said smiling to which he smiled back.

Elda walked over to them with Kahou in tow, "What I meant when I said that you both have exceeded Osiris Red is that you both have done something amazing to put you above the rank. Sonomi with her ability to overthrow all opponents and Kokuro to get to bypass it all together." She turned to Kahou, "I can see you doing a lot of the same," she said.

She then bent down next to Kahou and whispered, "Whatever you do, do not trade your cards to anyone," she said in a serious and then stood up again.

"How come?" he asked. "Wouldn't it be obvious that I wouldn't since they are all rare?"

She gave a small smile and said, "they are all very special, and so I want you to protect them." A worried expression came over her face for a moment, "Hopefully you will never have to find out how special," she said barely audible.

"What was that?" Kahou asked.

She let out a smile, "I said fate gave them to you for a reason, so please, never trade them," she said.

"I won't," he said smiling. He looked at the cards still in his deck, "I don't care about the rarity of the cards in all actuality, I like them because they are all unique cards."

"That's good," she said smiling.

Kokuro wanted to challenge Kahou but Kahou was too tired from all the hiking the day before and the duel he had just now endured so Kokuro held him to a rain check some time in the future. They all sat down talking until it was finally time to head back to the academy.

They all walked back together and once they got back to the dormitories Kahou decided he was going to head back to his dorm right away. He mentioned there was someone he wanted to talk to since he didn't have the chance to talk to them for all three of the days. He said goodbye to Elda and then headed off. Now just Kokuro, Sonomi, Mia, Yaku, and Elda were standing alone outside of the academy doors. "Well, I will be leaving soon," Elda said looking out at the sea. "I have to get back at my job at I2 before Pegasus misses me too long."

"Can you wait about half an hour so that we can run to take a quick bath and then say goodbye to you?" Kokuro said.

"I won't be leaving for another hour actually," she said. "I need to check in with Seto Kaiba and see him one last time before I leave."

"Alright. We'll all meet back here in an hour?" Kokuro asked.

"Sounds good," she said smiling.

Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia ran off to go get to the Ra Yellow bathhouse. Yaku and Elda watched them and Elda chuckled a bit. "You picked good friends," she said to Yaku.

"And we met in the worst way," Yaku chuckled remembering when Kokuro slammed into him on the first day.

Elda looked at her brother and smiled, "I'm so proud of you. You have followed in my footsteps perfectly. Mom and Dad would be proud," she said. "I'll be sure to tell them once I see them again."

"Please do," Yaku said smiling.

"By the way," she said taking out a few cards from her pocket, "I meant to give these to you earlier." She handed the cards to her brother and he stared in awe at some of the cards.

They were all machines but some of them looked odd and some just looked as if he played them the holographic images would cause them to fall apart. "Um…thanks…" he said.

She chuckled, "would I ever steer you wrong?"

"No," he said as he sighed in defeat.

"Remember, looks can be deceiving. They may look old or puny, but it's their effects that count," she said smiling.

"But I always liked my XYZ Monsters best," Yaku said.

"I know," she said. "But these are just a few other additions. With these cards in your deck you will have machines of all kinds. It's good to have a variety." She said smiling.

"True," he said looking at some of them. "Well, I trust you," he said. He hugged his sister and she hugged him back.

"There are also a few other cards I have noticed that are going to be made fairly soon. Ones that I _know _would make you happy. But they haven't been made yet. So once they come out I'll be sure to send them to you."

"Are you sure it's ok to just be giving me all these cards? Just because you're my sister doesn't mean I should be getting a free ride."

She smiled at him, "I've always supported you in everything you did in anyway I could, even when you were a baby. Besides, it's like you said, you always did have the better grades…"

"You can't honestly say that just because I helped you study for tests this is my payment?" he said giving her a funny look. "I did it because I wanted you to succeed."

"And for that I thank you," Elda said giving him a hug. "With cards that is," she added on. "I have to go see Seto Kaiba now," she said as she turned to walk into the academy. Yaku looked at the cards in his hands and decided to head back to the Obelisk Blue dorm for a while to reconstruct his deck with the odd additions.

* * *

Elda was in Kaiba's office and he was looking out the window with her. "So, I heard from Suji-Sensei that you gave Mr. Samé a rather powerful card," he said to her.

"That's true," she said smiling. "But something about him sparked my interest, they all do." Kaiba nodded and continued to stare out at the window, his gaze never shifting from it. "They never found the mystery man did they?" Elda asked.

Kaiba shook his head, "It's as I feared, and half the reason I moved the time of the Nature Hike. I've always scheduled the project to be done during the Nature Hike, so if any of the students didn't want to participate in one, they could do the other. Now I'm hoping that since the Nature Hike won't be available, I can get more students to participate in the project, find anybody who might be easily influenced, and deal with them properly."

Elda nodded, "Hopefully nothing bad will come out of this."

Kaiba merely nodded and looked at her, "Well, the quarterly exams will be coming up in the next week, and after that the project will begin after the holiday."

"Ahh…the Academy Holiday's," Elda said remembering the special holidays that Duelist Academy had for the students. "Those were truly good times," she smiled. Her face then became serious again, "If there is anything I can do…" she began.

"You already have," he said cutting her off. "By supplying Mr. Samé and your brother with powerful cards."

"How did you know I gave Yaku cards as well?" she asked a tad surprised.

Kaiba smirked, "he's your brother, how could you pass up the opportunity? In any case, I just hope that I won't have to get those students involved, no matter what happens."

"In all honesty I gave Kokuro his new magician because Yaku mentioned that he was such a magician fan. And I gave Yaku the new cards because they work so well in his deck, whether he thinks so right now or not." Kaiba nodded and she continued, "Kokuro, Sonomi and Mia won the scavenger hunt," she said. "The prize was a Hane Kuriboh. They all seemed pretty surprised when they saw the prize."

Kaiba simply smiled a bit, "Blasted Kuriboh," he said.

"Yugi always thwarted you with that didn't he?" she asked slyly.

"Be quiet Elda," he said dryly.

"Well, once I get the new cards out, I'll be sending a little package to Ms. Notosa, would you make sure she gets it?"

Kaiba nodded and looked out at the island again. He then took out an envelope and handed it to Elda, "Tickets for Parent's Night," he said.

She nodded and put them in her pocket, "Thanks," she said. She checked her watch and frowned, "I guess it's time to part ways again," she said.

"You were always my favorite student," Kaiba said looking at the young woman.

Elda smiled, "Now you have a new group of favorite students," she said.

"Be quiet Elda," he said again but a tad bit of amusement was in his voice this time.

She headed to the door and then stopped before she got out the door, "If you ever need my help, you know how to reach me," she said seriously.

"I'll call you if necessary," Kaiba said.

"Oh, one last thing," she said. "One of your Osiris Red students…"

"…Has the Time Cards," he finished. "Yeah, I know."

"If they get their hands on him…"

"Save your breath, I know what could happen."

"Still a disbeliever?" she asked slyly.

"The same story just gets old after a while," he said. Elda let out a small smile and walked out the door. Once he was alone Kaiba took out a picture from his drawer. In the picture was a tri colored boy who had a sharp gleam in his eyes and around his neck was a golden pyramid. A blonde headed boy was next to the other. A brown haired girl stood behind the tri color haired boy and a boy with pointy brown hair stood next to her behind the blonde headed boy. The blonde headed boy seemed to be posing as if he was showing off muscles, while the tri colored boy stood there with one arm arched and his hand on his hip giving off a small smile. The brown haired girl was giving a peace sign and the pointed haired boy was making bunny ears behind the blonde's head.

He stared down at the pyramid the one boy was wearing with the strange golden eye in the middle and then at the boy himself. "I made a promise…"

* * *

As Elda was walking down the hallway towards the entrance of the Academy a flash of white and blue caught her eye. She quickly turned her head to see Kazuki turning around the corner with a serious look on his face. She was about to rush around the corner to speak to him but thought better of it. She let out a small sigh as she heard a small screech from a special Harpie Lady. She smiled at Kazuki as he walked down the hall. "He's busy," she said slowly. "I could tell by the look on his face." She continued to walk down the hall, the small smile still on her face.

As he was walking down the hall Kazuki could have sworn he had heard a special kind of Harpie Lady call out to him. He turned around to look down the hall but didn't see anyone there. "Elda," he said slowly to himself before turning around again and continued walking.

* * *

Kokuro, Sonomi, Mia, and Yaku were standing at the docks next to Elda as a large ship was waiting as other passengers were boarding. "Well, I guess this is goodbye," Elda said.

"Thanks for everything," Kokuro said shaking her hand. She bent down and gave him a kiss on the cheek and he began blushing bright red.

"So…think I'm pretty?" Elda asked one last time looking hopeful.

Sonomi forcibly pushed Kokuro out of the way saving him, "it was nice meeting you," she said shaking her hand.

"You too Sonomi, keep up the good work." She looked over towards Mia, "It was nice meeting you too," she said.

Mia smiled and shook her hand, "The pleasure was all mine," she said kindly.

Elda turned to look at Yaku, "Good luck brother," she said as she hugged him.

"You too," he said as he hugged her back. They let go and she got onto the ship. The ship took off once all the other passengers had boarded and they all waved goodbye go Elda as she waved good by to them from the deck. As they headed back towards the academy Yaku turned to Kokuro, "You realize I have to kill you for kissing my sister right?" he chuckling.

"She kissed me!" Kokuro exclaimed.

"Excuses, excuses," Sonomi said.

"Whose side are you on?" Kokuro yelled at her.

"The one that wins," Mia said laughing. With that, they all headed back towards their own dormitories.

* * *

A/N: As you know I hate doing A/N's, especially after the chapter, but I just wanted to announce that this ends the Nature Hike Mini Arch. –cheers- Yay! So what is next on the adventures of Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia? Well, I guess you'll just have to read and find out. But I promise you won't want to miss it! Until then…

Power to the Hikari's


	17. Sick of Studying

Sdrive: I don't own it.

* * *

After Elda had left and Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia had gotten back in their room Kokuro decided to ask how the Quarterly Exams worked.

"Well," Sonomi said standing up. "It's like this, at the end of the first quarter students take the Quarterly Exams which are very similar to the Entrance Exams. It's used to allow students to receive promotions into higher ranks. Students take a long test and then they can go have their duel against a certain person of the different dormitories due to their rank. Obelisk Blue Students don't have any higher in the rank that they could go so they duel the Ra Yellow's in order to see if any Ra Yellow students are good enough to be put into Obelisk Blue. While the Ra's are busy dueling the Obelisks the Osiris' are dueling each other to find out who is strong enough to get into Ra Yellow."

"So Ra's duel Obelisk's and Osiris' duel each other?" Kokuro asked.

"Right!" Mia said.

"I see," Kokuro said.

"Also, there are special cards that get delivered to the Card Shop for students after they take the exams so that they can strengthen their decks for their upcoming duel," Mia explained.

"Is that so?" Kokuro said. Just then he remembered the mail he got from Setsuna during the Nature Hike, "The Magician's Force packs!" he called out. "I should go down and get them while Setsuna still has them!"

"I'll go with you," Mia said. "You coming Sonomi?"

"I would but I want to do some studying," she said.

"Alright," Kokuro said, "see ya later then," he said as they walked out the door.

Sonomi went to sit down at the desk and noticed a small envelope on it addressed to Kokuro. "I should go give this to him," she thought but then thought better of it. "He'll be right back," she said.

* * *

Kokuro and Mia were walking towards the card shop joking around with each other when suddenly an Osiris Red student knocked into Kokuro by accident. They both fell down and Mia went to help Kokuro up. "I'm so sorry," the Osiris Red student said picking up a bag she dropped. The student looked up at Kokuro and gasped. She quickly pulled the small red hat she had down over her face, picked up the bag and ran off towards the direction of the Osiris Red dorm.

Kokuro didn't realize that the student was a girl and didn't see what the girl looked like but noticed that she bolted as soon as she noticed him. "What was all that about?" he asked Mia.

"Probably just noticed that they knocked down a Ra Yellow, a famous one at that, and was afraid that you would pick on them," Mia said also not realizing the student was a female.

"Why would they think that?" Kokuro asked.

"A lot of the upperclassmen pick on the lower classmen, especially the Red's. The Obelisks mock even Yellow's. We are just lucky that Yaku is such a nice person," she explained.

"I guess so," Kokuro said as they began walking towards the card shop again. Once they got there they saw Setsuna over by a rack with booster packs with a pencil and notepad in her hand for inventory. When she saw them she let out a big squeal of excitement.

"It's my favorite customers!" she said running over to them. "Have you come for the Life Point Challenge?" she asked.

"Unfortunately not today," he said. "I came for the Magician's Force packs you had mentioned to me while I was on the Nature Hike."

A look of worry appeared on Setsuna's face, "uh oh," she said.

"What's wrong?" Kokuro asked.

"Well, I just sold a whole bunch to an Osiris Red student and after I thought about it I walked over towards the rack and I realized I ended up selling all of them."

"Again?" Mia said not believing it.

"I'm afraid so," she said. "I'm sorry Kokuro."

Kokuro looked thoughtful for a moment and then turned to Setsuna, "was this Osiris Red student wearing a red hat and holding a white bag?" he asked.

"Come to think of it yes," Setsuna said.

"How did you know that?" Mia asked Kokuro.

"Remember that Osiris Red we bumped into before we got here?" he asked her.

"Oh yeah!" Mia exclaimed as it dawned on her. "The student bolted after they saw you and they probably thought that if you saw all the Magician's Force packs they had bought you would be even more angry at them and pick on them even more."

"Makes sense to me," Kokuro said. "Well, do you have those Hane Kuriboh plushies?" he asked.

"There was an accident on the boat that was supposed to ship them and all the other goods over," Setsuna replied. "Apparently something went wrong down in the engine because it caused a small explosion. They are fixing it now but it won't be here until next week during the Quarterly Exams," she explained. "They wouldn't have been here until tomorrow anyway though."

"That's too bad," Kokuro said.

"I hope no one got hurt," Mia said worried.

"The reports said the explosion happened at night while no one was on the ship and it got contained within the ship so no other ships got damaged. Also all the cargo in the ship was accounted for so none of it got ruined."

"Well that's a relief," Mia said.

"So, would you like to take the LPC?" Setsuna asked.

"I would love to but I really need to start studying for the Quarterly Exams."

"Alright," Setsuna said. "Next time I get more Magician's Force packs I'll hide a few away for you."

"Thanks," Kokuro said smiling. "We should be heading off now," with that Kokuro and Mia headed back to their dorm.

* * *

When they got back there Sonomi was going over some of her notes that she had taken in Professor Hikari's class. "Hey guys," she said looking up. "Get any new Magicians?"

"The Osiris Red Bandit struck again," Kokuro said glumly.

"Again?" Sonomi asked.

"Yeah," Mia said. "Funny thing is we ran into the student and didn't even realize it until we were at the card shop."

"That's life," Sonomi said. Then she remembered the letter on the counter. "Kokuro, this must have arrived for you while we were on the Nature Hike," she said handing it to him. He thanked her and then opened it immediately when he saw it was from his sister, Selaya.

_Dear Kokuro,_

_I'm sorry this letter is so late. I've been so caught up in schoolwork it isn't even funny. Between that and having Domid and Yamato train me it's really hard. Guess what! Yamato was picking on me again! Whenever I thought he had told me something wrong he put up his "pink-haired girl barrier!" I got so upset at him and he just laughed at me again for letting my emotions get the best of me. Domid is so much nicer but his explanations are too complicated. He's also helping me in math though so that isn't so bad. Except when I called him with a question and he wasn't home. I left a message asking him to call me back and he did…at 11:00 at night! Good thing I was still up and so was mom and dad because I swear they would have killed him if he had woken them up. Well, enough about the catch up here let me get back to you with the contents of your letter now with great big CONGRATULATIONS! I always knew you could do it! Everyone here is so proud of you for exceeding Osiris Red and being put into Ra Yellow. Even Domid was impressed. _

_I'm sorry to hear about that girl. If you ask me she is just jealous. I would try to avoid her at all costs and just be glad you have one nice person in your room. Dad told me to tell you to ask Mia where she lives and if she lives close enough to hook up with her. As for that Ami person, I guess she thought you helped her some how and wanted to thank you. Yamato says that she must be some sort of super hacker to get your PDA address. I don't know._

_Well, I sure hope everything is fine over there. We had a really weird thing happen just yesterday. One of the boats that were supposed to be taking things to Duelist Academy had an explosion in it. Yamato was running late to his house due to band and when he was driving past the docks he heard the explosion. He also thought he saw two people standing on the docks but far enough away from the boat so that they wouldn't get hurt. He isn't sure because if they were people they were wearing all black. He isn't sure because he was driving too fast to get a good look at them and it was cloudy so there was no moonlight. Luckily the mail boat wasn't hit and you will still get this letter on time. Again sorry for the long wait. I love you and I'm proud of you, just like everyone else here._

_Love, Selaya._

Kokuro reread the last paragraph again just as Mia finished telling Sonomi about what Setsuna had told them at the card shop.

"That's pretty weird," Sonomi said. "I wonder how it happened."

Kokuro stayed silent for a moment before putting his letter down and speaking, "Maybe someone sabotaged it."

"What makes you say that?" Mia asked.

Kokuro looked over at the two girls and handed them the letter. Mia read it first and then handed it over to Sonomi who read it quickly. "So you are going to ignore me from now on huh?" Sonomi asked angrily.

"And should I tell your dad I'm taken?" Mia said.

Kokuro chuckled, "When I wrote the letter it was the day of the Entrance Exams, when Sonomi was ticked off at me and when I had barely knew Mia."

"I know," Mia said joking.

"Just make sure you let your sister know we are ok with each other now," Sonomi said handing the letter back to Kokuro. "I do think however that your friend probably just saw some random poles or something because from what Mia told me all the goods in the ship were still there the next day so I can't see any reason to sabotage the ship."

"I guess that's true," Kokuro said putting the letter down. "So, who is ready for dinner?" They both nodded and the three went down to go have dinner.

* * *

Sonomi and Mia had gone off to take another bath as Kokuro sat down at his desk after dinner to write the response to his sister.

_Dear Selaya,_

_Tell Yamato that when I get home I'll have to destroy him for being mean to you. I wouldn't bother trying to get Domid to explain things simpler, if you can do that I'll go back through high school and retake my math course lol. In any case I am glad to hear that everything is well over there without me. I would like to tell you that Sonomi and I have become great friends along with Mia, (by the way, tell dad Mia is taken) and that we are the best of friends. Sonomi decided to duel me to find out whether or not I was good enough to be in Ra Yellow and when I beat her that is when she realized what a good person I was. I've also made friends with an Obelisk Blue named Yaku. He specializes in Machines where as his sister who came to visit us, she previously graduated, uses Harpie Ladies. Speaking of Deck Types, Sonomi has an awesome Fire/Burn deck and Mia uses Level Monsters. Oh, and my crazy duels haven't ended yet. There was this jerk named Ritsuzen that came to our school from the North School. He made fun of not only Mia, Somomi and I, but the entire school as well. He wanted to duel Sonomi but when he found out that I had already beaten her he challenged me. I beat him after a tough duel but it really took a lot out of me. He was the Legend of the North School so it was safe to say that he was strong. From what I've heard he has been dropped down to Osiris Red because of me and so I'll probably have to face him again. Then Sonomi, Mia, and I went on a Nature Hike where I dueled this kid who used Magicians as well. He told me that he would take my Black Magician from me if I lost but I ended up beating him and got his. I haven't used it yet, I feel that maybe I'll find a better use for it. Well, that's about everything so far. I can't wait to hear from you again. Keep me posted on everything that happens._

_Love, Kokuro._

After Kokuro was done he put it in an envelope and placed it into the drop off box and headed back to his dorm room. On his way there, a group of 5 Obelisks were heading towards him. He expected to just sort of walk past them but they all suddenly stopped and he bumped into one. He looked up at them oddly giving them a look that said 'What's your problem?' but instead said, "Sorry about that," and tried to go on again but they still didn't budge.

"Where do you think you're going?" one of them asked him in a rude tone.

"I'm trying to get back to my dorm room," he said annoyed. "Is there a problem?"

"Yeah there is," he said. "You didn't pay us the proper respect we deserve by moving to the side of the hall and letting us pass."

"And why would I do that?" Kokuro asked crossing his arms.

The older boy grabbed Kokuro's jacket and pulled him to his face, "because we are Obelisk's and you are a Ra, do the math!" he said pushing Kokuro down onto the ground. Kokuro heard Kuriboh but didn't pay too much attention when the boy looked down at Kokuro. "Now apologize and move off to the side and I might forgive you."

Kokuro stood up and crossed his arms, "Why should I?" he asked.

"I just told you to do the math," the boy said.

"Sorry, I've always been bad at math," Kokuro said grinning a little.

"A wise guy eh?" the boy said. "Well let me put it in better terms, there are 5 of us and 1 of you if you get my drift."

"I have every right to walk in this hallway just like you," Kokuro said.

"I didn't say you didn't have the right, I said that you didn't respect the Obelisk's by moving to the side," he said as he went towards Kokuro and pushed him to the side. "Much better," he said.

Kokuro was about to protest when the Obelisk in the back of the group started to speak, "Let's not get things too out of control," he said stepping up.

"But Kazuki…" the Obelisk began.

Just then Sonomi and Mia came running down the halls to Kokuro, "Are you alright?" Mia asked him.

"Yeah, but how did you know where I was?" Kokuro asked.

"We both just sort of felt that you were in trouble and we guessed which way to go," she explained.

"Kazuki…" Sonomi said to the boy who stopped the other Obelisk.

"Sonomi," he said nodding to her. "Congratulations on your recent rank raise, it surprises me you are still in Ra and not with us in the Obelisks."

"You know how I work," Sonomi said to him.

"That I do," he said with a barely visible smile on his face.

"Talking to Ra's?" the other Obelisk asked, "how pathetic even for you Kazuki."

"This 'Ra' happens to be the Legend of our school Sonomi Hinote. And that other Ra over there is the one who beat Sonomi and Professor Hikari, Kokuro Samé."

"I don't care who they are," the Obelisk said. "What's done is done," he said as he walked off along with the other Obelisks.

Kazuki walked over to Kokuro, "My apologies for my friends behavior, he doesn't share the same tolerance I do."

"That's fine," Kokuro said dusting himself off. "So who are you?"

The boy gave Kokuro a small eyebrow raise and an expression that said, 'are you joking?' Sonomi walked over to Kokuro, "Kokuro, this is Kazuki, ranked number 1 in the school. He sat with us up on stage during the Welcoming Ceremony the day of Entrance Exams."

"Oh, that's who you are?" Kokuro asked.

A small sweat drop appeared on Kazuki's head, "Yes, that is who I am. I thought you would know that."

Kokuro shrugged, "I guess I didn't realize there could be a Legend who wasn't ranked number 1 in the school," he said.

"Well now you know it," he said. "Please try to remember it because there is a good chance that you could be dueling me next week," he said as he headed off.

"There is? How come?" Kokuro asked.

Kazuki stopped, "because Ra's have to face Obelisk's for the Quarterly Exams and I can't see them really putting you against any other Obelisk. Then again, I could also have the privilege of dueling Sonomi, but I doubt that would happen. So until next week take care," he said as he walked off.

"Interesting guy," Kokuro said. "He talked slowly and without any emotion in his voice."

"He's the kind who focuses on whatever is happening and always remains calm," Sonomi explained.

"I could tell," Kokuro said. "Well, who's up for a study session?"

"I know I am," Sonomi said.

"Couldn't hurt!" Mia said smiling and giving off her peace sign.

* * *

For the next week, aside from going to class, the group spent their time studying for the quarterly exams. They didn't bother to duel because they were all confident in their own abilities. Sonomi had told them that even if she did get accepted into Obelisk Blue she would stay in Ra Yellow. What she was after was the grade. Kokuro had developed a small cough but it didn't stop him or the others from studying.

"Name 5 monsters that cannot be effected by Divine Wrath," Sonomi said to Kokuro reading from a study book.

"Jinzo, Fire Princess, Fiend Megacyber, Amazoness Swordswoman, and…Hayabusa Knight!"

"Right," she said handing the book to Kokuro.

Kokuro flipped through the pages and then turned to Mia. "Great Maju Garzett is summoned by sacrificing a Berserk Gorilla, due to its effect it becomes a 4000. An Ax of Despair is equipped to it making it a 5000 point monster. It is sacrificed for another Great Maju Garzett, what is the new Garzett's attack power?"

Mia thought for a second before saying, "0." Kokuro nodded and handed the book to Mia. She looked through the pages and then turned to Sonomi, "You are driving a bus and stop at Jefferson Street, the bus drops off three people and picks up five. It drives over to Walbach Street and drops off seven people and then picks up four. It drives to Summer Street and picks up five people and drops off none. It then goes back to Jefferson Street and drops off 2 people and picks up 1. Who is driving the bus?"

"I am and what does this have to do with Duel Monsters?" Sonomi asked slightly annoyed.

Mia thought for a moment and then smiled saying, "I don't know." She and Kokuro started laughing. Kokuro's laugh turned into what sounded like a painful cough. Mia looked over at him with a worried look, "are you ok?" Kokuro finished his cough and then in a slightly raspy voice he said he was fine. "You don't sound fine," she said to him.

"Just a little cold," he said. "Nothing to get worried about."

The two girls looked at each other with worried faces as he began coughing again. They went to bed a little while later and before they knew it, it was time for the Quarterly Exams. Kokuro woke up still coughing. "Are you sure you're ok?" Sonomi asked him as he was brushing his teeth in their shared bathroom.

Kokuro gave a weak smile, "nothing a couple of antibiotics can't fix," he said continuing his weak smile and giving her a peace sign.

"Don't let Mia catch you doing that, she'll get mad that you are stealing her pose." Kokuro began to chuckle and it turned into another coughing fit. "Seriously, are you sure you are ok? You know you can reschedule your exam due to sickness right?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he said. "Why are you worrying so much?"

"Isn't that what friends do?" she asked putting her hand on his shoulder.

He smiled and nodded, "yeah."

"Be careful," she said. "We play one heck of a card game," she said chuckling.

He smiled and nodded and then went back to brushing his teeth. Sonomi left the bathroom and heard him cough again, 'please be careful,' she thought to herself sadly.

Once everyone was completely awake and ready for the day they went to their own classrooms to begin their exams. Professor Hikari handed out the exams and Sonomi looked at Kokuro once more, "It's still not too late to back out," she said. He looked at her and smiled. He went to taking his test and not long after began coughing again.

An hour later most of the students had finished and he had just gotten halfway through the test. Professor Hikari had called out to put all pencils down and to either head to the exam site or to the card shop for the free cards that just got there. All the students rushed out of the room with the exception of Sonomi and Kokuro. Kokuro was in the middle of a coughing fit and she was looking at him worriedly. Professor Hikari came to pick up the tests and gave Kokuro an eye. "I can understand studying yourself sick but you are really pushing it," he said annoyed.

"Why don't I get you to the nurse?" Sonomi asked him.

He shook his head, "I'm just going to get to my duel and then I'm heading off to bed," he said weakly. He stood up and almost collapsed onto the ground.

"That's it, I can't have you risk hurting yourself," she said to him as she helped him up. "I'm taking you to the nurse."

"No need," he said as he let go of her. "With my skills I'll be there and back in no time. Save a pack for me." She stood dumbfounded as he made his way down the steps and out into the halls.

Professor Hikari stood there smirking next to Sonomi as she gave Kokuro's back a dirty look. "Now I know your sick."

"That or delusional," Professor Hikari said.

Sonomi turned to glare at Professor Hikari's smirking face but then thought about it for a second and sighed. "That is very possible," she said as she made her way down the steps and out the door.

Kokuro had made it to the duel arena with the help of an Osiris Red Student. This particular Red student happened to be Kahou and for once he forgave Kokuro for not remembering who he was. After reminding Kokuro of who he was he checked to make sure that Kokuro really wanted to go through with his duel and not take a trip down to the nurses office.

"You're just as annoying as Sonomi you know that?" Kokuro told Kahou. Kahou left him to his arena and went to go to his own. Kokuro waited in slight annoyance at the tardiness of his opponent. After a few minutes his opponent stepped into the arena and it was none other than Kazuki.

"Well, it looks as though I was right," Kazuki said looking over at Kokuro. He then noticed Kokuro's lack of color, "You sure you are up for this? You look really scared."

"My skills far surpass yours," Kokuro said smugly and took out his deck… which ended up falling onto the floor.

Kazuki stood in disbelief, "I've heard that you were good, but I guess everyone that told me this forgot to mention you can't keep your cards in your hand."

Kokuro picked up his cards and shuffled them…poorly. He pushed them into his Duel Disk and it folded out. "Are you done chatting so that we can get on with your defeat?"

"You're going to regret that," Kazuki said as he took out his deck, shuffled it, placed it into the Duel Disk and allowed the disk to fold out.

They both shouted out duel…well, Kokuro shouted out "Achoo" but it was close enough. Kokuro grandly declared that he would be going first. He pulled the cards from his deck and looked them over. "I'll summon Fire Princess in attack mode," he called out as the girl with silver hair and red robes appeared on the field. (1300/1500) "I'll throw down a face down and end my turn," Kokuro said.

"The pressure must truly be getting to you," Kazuki said drawing his card and looked at it. "I summon Sonic Bird," he said as his a white bird with brown feathers, a small rocket booster, and goggles appeared on the field (1400/1000). "This monster allows me to take one Ritual Spell Card from my deck and add it to my hand," he said as he searched his deck for a card and added it to his hand. "I activate Ritual of the Devil's Mirror," he said as he slid the card into the disk. "I must sacrifice monsters in my hand or on my field that equal 6 stars or more in order to activate it. So I discard my Performance of Sword from my hand which has 6 stars and now I can special summon Devil's Mirror," he said as a mirror with a dark aura rose up from the ground. It had sharp blades at the top and bottom of it. There were curved pointed edges all over it. (2100/1800)

"You're card is a mirror?" Kokuro mocked. "What else do you have? Lipstick?"

"You are fast getting on my nerves, maybe my friend was right in pushing you. Next I activate Ritual Weapon. This can only be equipped to a Ritual Monster with 6 stars or less. And my Devil's Mirror fits the bill. It will now increase the attack and defense of my Devil's Mirror by 1500," Kazuki said as a purple weapon with curved gold blades sticking out of right and left of it and a short, thin, sword on top appeared on the mirror. There was an Egyptian eye in the center of the purple weapon that started glowing and caused the whole mirror to glow. (3600/3300)

"Wow, that thing is strong," Kokuro said more happy then worried. He then broke into another coughing fit.

"Sonic Bird, attack Fire Princess!" The bird rammed into the girl destroying her. (7900) "Devil's mirror, attack this pathetic Ra Yellow's Life Points," he said as the mirror gave off a purple aura and a beam of energy came from the center of the mirror smashing into Kokuro. (4300) Kokuro screamed out in pain as the attack knocked him backwards. He fell onto the floor and rolled until he landed face up. His eyes barely stayed open until he heard the sound of Kuriboh and then all went dark.


	18. Rematch: Vs Number 1!

Sdrive: I don't own it.

* * *

Kokuro's eyes slowly opened, his vision was blurry but he could hear voices. "He's awake!" one voice exclaimed.

"That's a major relief," another voice said. "Stupid male," it said again. Kokuro's eyes came into focus and he could see Sonomi and Mia standing over him clearly. They both had relieved looks on their faces. It had looked like they had been crying for a while but he couldn't tell. He also thought he could see a Kuriboh and Hane Kuriboh behind each of them with worried looks on their faces. He slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes. When he opened them the Kuriboh's were gone and he shrugged it off as delusion. He looked around to see that he was in a room that reminded him of a hospital room.

"Wher…where am I?" he asked slowly.

"In the academy hospital you idiot!" Sonomi yelled at him.

"Sonomi! Don't yell at him," Mia said.

"What am I doing here?" he asked weakly.

"Well, as it turns out you caught a pretty bad bug during the Nature Hike," Mia said. "The doctors said that it wouldn't have caused as much of a problem if you hadn't been stressing so much about the exams. But because of all the stress you put yourself through you made it much worse."

"Am I going to be ok?" he asked.

Mia nodded, "they put you on antibiotics and you showed a 100 jump in health. You are still sick and need to take the antibiotics for another week but you should be back to your own self in two days."

"I told you to let me take you to the nurse to be checked but you had to be stubborn and only let yourself get even more sick!" Sonomi yelled. "Don't ever scare me like this again!"

Kokuro felt a pain in his heart and looked down, "I'm sorry I was such a jerk," he said feeling as though he had ruined the trust between them. "If it makes any difference I really don't remember much after you asked me if I still didn't want to go to the nurse right before the exam."

"You were a jerk, plain and simple," she said.

"I'm sorry," he said. Then a thought occurred to him, "what happened in the duel?"

"You passed out on Kazuki's first turn," she said. "You could barely stand and when you took that powerful attack it knocked you backwards and knocked you out. Mia and I were at the card shop and suddenly felt that you were in danger. We went right to the arena and that's where we got the story."

"What about Kazuki?" Kokuro asked.

"Well…" Sonomi said.

"This is pathetic," Kazuki said. "You mock my skills and then you collapse after an attack as weak as this? I've done much worse to my opponents, yet there you are lying on the ground. Get up so that I can finish you off." He waited for Kokuro to get up and when he realized Kokuro wasn't getting up he declared himself the winner. He turned to walk off as Sonomi and Mia ran into the arena.

"_Where is Kokuro?" Sonomi asked._

_Kazuki pointed behind him, "He's unconscious over there. At first I thought he was just scared and trying to act tough to make me scared, but now I realize that something is seriously wrong with him. He was pretty rude and insulted not only me but also my plays. If I were you I would skip the nurses office and take him straight to the hospital." With that Kazuki walked off and Sonomi and Mia ran over to Kokuro and helped him up._

"I am so sorry," Kokuro said closing his eyes.

"The thing is that you are better now," Sonomi said. "You'll still feel a tad weak but you can go back to the dorm tonight. Luckily it isn't contagious but a few other students did get it while they were out there. However they were smart enough to go to the hospital as soon as they sensed something was wrong and didn't have to suffer like you did." Kokuro repeated that he was sorry and Sonomi held his hand. "Just listen to me next time. I knew you weren't feeling well and I wanted to help you."

"I'll listen to you next time," he said quietly. "So how long was I unconscious?"

"You ended up waking up later on that night but you were so tired and sick you passed out again. You probably don't remember it. After that you just slept for a day and here you are now."

"What time is it now?" he asked.

"Around dinner time."

"So I slept for two days?" he asked a tad surprised.

"You were recovering so it's to be expected. Remember you often stayed up late over the past week to study so you were also catching up on needed sleep."

"Yeah I guess so," he said.

"You feeling up to going back to our dorm now?" Mia asked.

Kokuro nodded but Sonomi stopped him. "I wanted to give something to you first," she said as her face blushed slightly. She reached into her bag pulling out a small Hane Kuriboh Plushy and handed it to Kokuro. "I got this for you at the card shop while Mia took a turn watching you."

Kokuro looked at the small plushy and smiled. He then looked up at Sonomi and asked, "I thought you thought it was a waste to spend D.P. on things like this," he said.

She looked down at the plushy and then to him, "if my friend will enjoy it then it is worth the D.P." she said smiling.

He smiled and gave her hug, "thank you," he said quietly.

"You're welcome," she responded. "Lets go home," she said smiling.

Kokuro shook his head which surprised Sonomi a little, "I have one other place I have to go first," he said.

"Where would you possibly have to go right now?" Mia asked.

"Well, you guys said I was jerk."

Understanding what he wanted they both nodded and helped him stand. They wrapped his arms around them as an extra precaution because his legs will still a little weak. They grabbed their things and started to head off to the Obelisk Blue dorm.

They got onto one of the small transportation vehicles provided and it drove them to the academy part of the island and took them out of the city part where the hospital and teachers houses were. By the time they had arrived at the Obelisk Blue dorm Kokuro could walk easier and the girls had let go of him. The Obelisk Dorm was actually two separate dorms, one for the males and one for the females only accessible from this part of the island by boat as it was on the other side of a large lake. As they approached the dorm the group of nasty Obelisks that had shoved Kokuro a week ago stopped them.

"Well look who it is," the obnoxious one said. "It's the tough guy who fainted in Kazuki's first turn," he said laughing meanly.

Sonomi walked over to him and grabbed his jacket much like he had done to Kokuro just a week ago, "Listen you, quite frankly you're really ticking me off. Now step aside right now or prepare to feel my fist in your face!" the boy got really nervous and promised to step off for now. They walked through the halls of the Obelisk and marveled at the splendor of it of it. It was well kept and seemed to be of high maintenance. They received some odd looks from some of the other Obelisks but for the most part were left alone. They passed Yaku who was in a hurry but were able to get directions to Kazuki's dorm room.

Once at Kazuki's dorm room Kokuro took in a deep breath and knocked on the door. A moment later Kazuki opened the door and was startled to see the group standing outside his door. He looked down at Kokuro and frowned in annoyance, "and to what do I owe the privilege of seeing you in my dorm?"

"I came to say I'm sorry," Kokuro said. "I was a real jerk, and even though it was the sickness talking it's still no excuse for the way I treated you and your cards. I was told on the way over here that you told my friends here that I insulted your cards and I know what it's like to have myself and my cards insulted. I was hoping that even though I was excessively rude to you that you would forgive me."

Kazuki smiled slightly, "it takes a true man to admit when he's wrong. Most others would have just assumed that I was fine with what happened because they were sick and would have never apologized. But you realized your mistake and came to apologize in person. For that I will forgive you. I am sorry but because you had already started the duel they counted the outcome as the final outcome and you did not increase in your rank."

Kokuro shrugged and gave a small smile, "That's fine for now," he said. "At least I get to stay with my friends a bit longer." He smiled at the two girls and they smiled at him as well. He then turned back to Kazuki, "However, if you wouldn't mind, I would like to duel you again once I get my strength back. I think it would be a good match."

Kazuki nodded, "I do too." He gave Kokuro his PDA address; "Give me a buzz once you feel well enough to face me."

Kokuro made a fist, "you bet!" he said excited.

"I'll walk you out of the dormitory so there won't be any problems."

"Thank you," they said. Once they were out of Obelisk Blue they waved goodbye and walked off towards their own dorm. "That was a very nice thing you did Kokuro," Mia said. "I'm sure he truly appreciates it."

"That's why I did it," Kokuro said. They got back to their dormitory and Kokuro let out a long stretch. "I hate to do it to you girls but I'm really tired, I think I'm going to bed."

"That's fine," Mia said. Kokuro began to climb the latter but Mia stopped him. "You shouldn't be straining yourself after just walking from the Obelisk Blue dorm to ours. Take my bed tonight, it will save you from having to climb the latter."

"Where will you sleep?" Kokuro asked her.

"In your bed silly," she said laughing.

Kokuro smiled sheepishly and then lay down in Mia's bed. He pulled the covers over himself and secretly thought that it had a joyous smell. It smelt just as kind and friendly as she was and he quickly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Over the next two days Kokuro spent his time getting babied by Mia and being laughed at by Sonomi. He took his antibiotics and once he was strong enough sent a challenge to Kazuki who accepted it. While he was at it he decided to check his other mail. It turns out he did have one other message.

I heard you got sick. Please get better soon.

_-Ami_

"The mysterious Ami returns to baffle me once more," Kokuro said to quietly to himself. He stood up and let out a long stretch before he smiled and looked over at Mia and Sonomi, "I'm ready to duel," he said. He got up off the bed and walked over to the chair where he had placed his belt with his deck on it. He took the belt and put it on and then took the Duel Disk on the counter and slid it onto his left arm. "You two coming to watch me this time?" he asked.

"Of course," Mia said.

"I have nothing better to do," Sonomi said. Kokuro looked at her for a second and she smiled slyly, "Of course I have better things to do, but I would rather watch my best friend duel." Kokuro smiled and they headed out of the dorm room and began walking through the halls of the dormitory. Suddenly they spotted a familiar but not too friendly face. Walking down the halls with his tutor Kyusai-Sensei was Ritsuzen, and he was in a Ra Yellow uniform.

"What are you doing in a Ra Yellow uniform?" Sonomi asked disgusted.

"I thought it would be a simple thing to figure out," he said chuckling. "I scored an A on my Quarterly Exam and easily defeated my opponent in Osiris Red so I was admitted into Ra Yellow, much to Kaiba's dismay," he added. "He would have liked it better if I was in Osiris Red where he could keep a closer eye on me, but of course he forgot about the Quarterly Exam and with it my chance to raise in the ranks again. Now all I have to do is face off against you Kokuro and once I win I will be back in Obelisk Blue where I belong."

"Too bad I won't be dueling you tonight," Kokuro said to him. "I've got a duel with Kazuki so you will have to wait."

Ritsuzen looked over his Ra Yellow uniform, "This uniform doesn't even come close to the niceness of Obelisk Blue, but it is much better than that unbearable Osiris Red excuse for a uniform. The awful piece of trash is a uniform I shall never wear again."

"We'll see about that," Sonomi said. "Kokuro will beat you and knock you right back down to Osiris Red again."

"Impossible," Ritsuzen said smirking.

"Actually, she is right," Kyusai-Sensei said.

"Excuse me?" Ritsuzen said glaring at him.

"Your ranking is very delicate right now. You are only in Ra Yellow at the moment due to your grade. You dueled a rather low ranked Osiris Red student so it was easy for you to defeat him. Another devastating loss from Mr. Samé will most likely result in you being dropped back down to Osirs Red again. If you want to maintain your Ra Yellow status you should duel a few Ra Yellow's in order to raise your rank enough so that if you lose to Mr. Samé again you will not be as likely to lose your ranking."

"No!" Ritsuzen said raising his voice. "The only opponent I will face will be Kokuro Samé," he said annoyed.

"Well then I'm afraid you will not be facing anyone today then," Kokuro said. "Now if you will excuse me, I'm late to my duel with Kazuki." With that Kokuro walked around Ritsuzen and the girls followed after him.

Ritsuzen glared at Kokuro and Kyusai-Sensei spoke up, "Although you have been trouble in the past, I am instructed to be your tutor and I do not want to see you get knocked down in your ranking again, I highly advise you to duel a couple of other students before you try to duel Kokuro again."

"How many times do I have to make it clear to you that the only student I will duel will be Kokuro?"

Kyusai-Sensei shook his head in shame and they continued on their way through the halls.

Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia arrived in the Obelisk Blue arena to find Kazuki already standing on the other side of the arena. "I've heard of being fashionably late…" he began.

"We ran into someone on the way," Kokuro said jumping up onto the arena. The two girls went to go sit in the audience to watch the duel. "So how bout it?" Kokuro asked. "You ready to finish what we started?"

Kazuki nodded and he took out his deck. They both shuffled their decks and placed them into their Duel Disks and the disks folded out. Kazuki drew his first hand and raised an eyebrow at his hand. "I'll allow you to go first," he said.

"Thank you," Kokuro said drawing his 6th card. He looked over his hand and took a card from it. "I summon Fire Princess!" he called out as the girl with the red robes and silver hair appeared on the field. "I set one card under the table and end my turn," Kokuro said as the card appeared on the field.

Kazuki smiled at Kokuro's play and drew his card. 'The same hand,' he said to himself. "I summon Sonic Bird!" he called out as the monster he had summoned during the Quarterly Exams appeared (1400/1000). "This monster, as you may remember, allows me to search for one Ritual Spell card from my hand and add it to my hand."

"In all honesty, I don't remember much of our duel," Kokuro said.

Kazuki raised his eyebrow, "that's too bad," he told him. "Because if you did you would realize what is about to happen. I activate Ritual of the Devil's Mirror!" he called out as the card appeared on the field. "This card can only activate by offering monsters from my field or hand that total 6 stars or more. So I will discard my Performance of Sword in order to meet the requirements of the spell card. Now I can summon Devil's Mirror!" he called out as the same mirror from the previous duel appeared on the field. (2100/1800)

"Whoa!" Kokuro exclaimed. "For a mirror that's a cool looking monster!"

Kazuki smiled and then took another card from his hand, "I activate Ritual Weapon, this card equips to a Ritual Monster with 6 stars or less and gives it an extra 1500 attack and defense," he explained as the weapon appeared on the mirror once again raising its stats. (3600/3300) "Go Sonic Bird, attack his Fire Princess," he called out as the bird's rocket booster rammed it into the girl and destroyed it. (7900) "Devil's Mirror, attack the player!" The mirror had a dark aura appear around it, which became an energy blast that it shot from its center that hit Kokuro in the chest. However this time Kokuro stood his ground and didn't fall backwards. (4400) "Do you realize what has happened these past turns?" Kazuki asked him.

"No. Should I?" Kokuro asked.

"It means you don't remember," Kazuki said. "You were so sick that you don't remember our opening turns. But I think you will be interested in knowing that we just played out the first turns of our duel in the Quarterly Exams," he said. "Card for card. However, there is no logical way for me to know whether you have drawn the same hand or not, but I believe fate wants us to finish our duel."

"Fate huh? Well, I'm not too sure about that, but I know there will be one big difference this time," Kokuro said smiling at Kazuki.

"And what might that be?" Kazuki asked grinning himself.

"This time I'm not going to pass out," he called out as his Trap Card flipped up. "Reverse Solemn Wishes, this will give me an extra 500 Life Points every time I make a draw," Kokuro explained.

"Then lets see what your deck gives you," Kazuki said.

Kokuro drew his card and the glittering rain fell down on him raising his Life Points, (4900). "I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards and give myself another 500 Life Points," Kokuro said as he drew his two cards. (5400) Just then Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia heard Kuriboh and they all just simultaneously smiled. "I set one monster on guard and end my turn," Kokuro said.

Kazuki drew his card and smiled. "I activate Card of Sanctity to allow us both to draw until we have 6 cards in our hands, I have 2 so I get to draw 4 but you have 5 which means you only get to draw 1," explained as he drew his 4 and Kokuro drew his one."

"I still gain 500 Life Points," Kokuro explained as his Life Points increased, (5900).

"True, but I believe that soon you will have little to none," Kazuki said as he placed a monster on the field. "I summon Senju of the Thousand Hands," he announced as an idol with a thousand hands appeared on the field. (1400/1000) "This card allows me to take a Ritual Monster from my deck and add it to my hand," he explained as he looked through his deck and selected a card. He reshuffled his deck and slid it into his Duel Disk again. "I now activate Curse of the Masked Beast," Kazuki said as he slid the card into the Spell/Trap Zone. "In order to activate this I must offer up monsters on my side of the field or from my hand with a total of 8 stars or more. And it just so happens that my Sonic Bird and my Senju each have 4 stars each so I offer both of them in order to summon Masked Beast." Suddenly a giant creature covered in masks with 4 legs, two arms and a large staff in the right hand appeared on the field. (3200/1800)

"That thing is huge!" Kokuro called out.

"Thank you," Kazuki said taking another card from his hand and putting it in the Spell/Trap Zone. "I activate Descent of White Dragon," he said as the card appeared. "This card can only activate if I offer up monsters with 4 stars or more from my hand or field. So now I discard my second Sonic Bird in order to summon Knight of White Dragon!" he called out as a knight clad in white and gold armor rode a baby white dragon onto the field. (1900/1200) "This cards effect allows me to automatically destroy your monsters without flipping them or applying damage calculation when your monster is face down on guard. So once my Knight of White Dragon attacks it you will be wide open for the attacks of my other two monsters and you will lose the duel. Knight of White Dragon, destroy his monster."

The Knight charged forward and its body turned into a purple spear of energy and blasted the card destroying it before returning to Kazuki's side of the field. Kazuki smiled, "Masked Beast, attack the player!" The Masked Beast rushed forward and went to slam its staff down on Kokuro when suddenly his graveyard began to shine and the spirit of Hane Kuriboh appeared on the field and blocked the attack of Masked Beast. "What just happened?" Kazuki asked him.

Kokuro smiled as the two girls cheered for him, "Hane Kuriboh is what happened," Kokuro said. "Whenever it's destroyed it negates the battle damage that I take for the rest of the turn," he explained.

"Ahh, it has an effect that activates in the graveyard and there for even though it was destroyed by Knight of White Dragon you could still protect yourself, very clever."

"Thank you," Kokuro said.

"You're welcome," he said. "I end my turn."

'Alright,' Kokuro thought to himself, 'I've got to pull a strong card this turn or it's over for me.' He pulled his card and looked down at it as his Life Points increased. (6400) "This will work," he said. "I set one monster on guard and end my turn."

Kazuki drew his card and immediately played it, "Pot of Greed will give me an additional two cards," he said as he drew two new cards. "I activate Final Ritual of the Ancients," he said as he slid the card into his Duel Disk. "I have to discard monsters with 8 stars or higher in order to activate this card. He looked down at a card in his hand. I understand how important your Magicians are to you, so I will not use this card against you," he said as he showed Kokuro the Magician of Black Chaos. He slid the card into the graveyard to meet the requirements of Final Ritual of the Ancients. "Just as this card states, this will be the final ritual played this duel," he said as slowly a large fiend appeared on the field. It had stone armor and purple skin. (2500/1500) "This is my Reshef the Dark Being. I have no cards in my hand so I am not allowed to use the special ability of my monster, but that doesn't mean I cannot attack. Knight of White Dragon, attack the face down monster!"

The Knight repeated the attack it had made on the previous monster and destroyed it. "You've activated the effect of another monster that activates when it is destroyed, Apprentice Magician, so now I get to summon another face down on guard," he said as he took out his deck and placed the new Apprentice Magician on the field face down.

"I will end my turn in that case," Kazuki said.

Kokuro drew his card and looked down at it. 'Torrential Tribute,' he thought. His Life Points increased and he placed his Torrential Tribute face down. (6900) "I end my turn."

Kazuki drew his card and looked down at it, "It was a good duel but it must end now. I have just drawn my Ritual of Black Magic, so I discard it from my hand to use my Reshef's special ability. Whenever I discard a Spell from my hand I am allowed to take control of one of your monsters." The face down card on Kokuro's side of the field disappeared and reappeared on Kazuki's side of the field.

'Come on, flip it up,' Kokuro thought.

"Devil's Mirror, attack the player!" he called out as his mirror's dark aura appeared and blasted Kokuro in the chest. (3300) It was then Kokuro knew he had lost the duel. "Masked Beast, attack the Player!" The Masked Beast brought its powerful staff down on Kokuro causing him to fall backwards onto the ground. (100) He slowly stood up as Kazuki ordered his final attack, "Reshef, finish off my opponent!" Three spheres, red, blue, and yellow appeared around Reshef, they turned into blasts of energy that hit Kokuro knocking him down once more. (0) The images faded away and Kazuki walked over to Kokuro and helped him up.

In the audience Sonomi and Mia were surprised to see that Kokuro had lost. "I knew that Kazuki was strong…" Mia began. "But wow!"

"I agree," Sonomi said. "I hope Kokuro is ok."

Kokuro took Kazuki's hand and stood up, "That was an awesome duel!" he said. "Now I know how you got your ranking as number 1 in the school. You're an amazing duelist."

"You are a good duelist yourself," Kazuki said shaking Kokuro's hand. "I wouldn't be surprised if you defeat me one day."

"Then watch out," Kokuro said, "Cause I'll only improve from now on."

"I look forward to when we duel again," Kazuki said smiling slightly. He turned around and walked out of the arena.

Sonomi and Mia ran up to Kokuro, "are you ok?" they asked him simultaneously.

"Of course," Kokuro said. "It's just one loss," he said. "I've beaten my fair share of duelists at the academy so far, I was in for a loss," he said laughing. "Come on, I'm ready for lunch." And with that he went off towards the Ra Yellow cafeteria and the two girls followed, glad he wasn't upset.

* * *

In Seto Kaiba's office Kaiba was sitting at his computer typing when the intercom buzzed. "Jukata-Sensei to see you," his secretary's voice said through the intercom.

"Send him in," Kaiba replied. A moment later the door opened and Jukata-Sensei came through the door. "Well?"

"It's as you expected, Mr. Samé challenged Mr. Ishihaka to a rematch."

"And how did the duel go?" Kaiba asked.

"Well, Mr. Samé lost," Jukata-Sensei said nervously.

Kaiba nodded and said, "That's to be expected."

"You mean you are not surprised that he lost?" Jukata-Sensei said shocked.

"They are both good duelists," Kaiba said. "It was any ones game. It pleases me to see that Mr. Samé can lose."

"And why is that?" Jukata-Sensei asked.

"Because now he will learn from his mistakes and grow to be even better," Kaiba said grinning. "You may stop watching the Obelisk Blue arena now."

"Thank you Master Kaiba," Jukata-Sensei said as he walked out the door.

Kaiba watched him leave and he turned around to his large window that faced the island. 'I'm also glad to hear that he did not win because it will remind him that he _can _lose and he will be conscientious of other players abilities. I am positive that he will only grow from here.'


	19. A Legend's Demons

Sdrive: Add some kind of witty disclaimer here.

* * *

Kokuro and Yaku were hanging out in the mechanics room helping Hitoku clean out the gears and chains of one of the lawnmowers. Both boys were both covered in oil and they smelled like it too. "I never knew there could be so much oil in these things," Kokuro said cleaning the grease off one of the chains. "And people say there isn't enough fossil fuels to go around," he mused. 

Yaku chuckled, "think of it this way, if this little lawnmower has this much grease in the gears think about how much must be in the gears of all the cards in my deck."

Kokuro's eyes widened and he looked down at the chain in his hands and then had an image of a the X Head Cannon, Y Dragon Head, and Z Metal Caterpillar covered in grease talking to him. "Clean me!" X Head Cannon said.

"I need an oil change," Z Metal said.

"Wax me damnit!" Y Dragon swore.

Kokuro looked at Yaku and then down at the chain again, "I think you should watch Y Dragon's mouth."

"You say something?" Yaku asked as he looked up from cleaning his own chain.

Kokuro looked at him again and abruptly shook his head, "No, forget it."

Yaku put his cloth away and began to reconnect the chain he had taken from the other mower. By the time he had finished Kokuro had finished his chain so Yaku took that from him and reconnected it as well. He closed the hood of the mower and smiled at Kokuro, "all finished."

"Finally!" Kokuro said collapsing in a nearby chair.

"Hey, just remember that you offered to help me," Yaku said punching Kokuro's arm.

"Ow," Kokuro said mockingly and looked back up at Yaku, "remind me next time not to offer."

"What? A little mechanics too tough for the Mighty Magican?" he mocked. "Maybe next time you can use your magic to clean them that way."

"Oh shut up," Kokuro said while laughing. "Maybe next time you should use monsters that don't require as much maintenance work."

"You don't like to get dirty do you?"

"It's not that, I just never had to do anything like this back in my home town. Plus I live with two girls at the moment and I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate their roommate coming home smelling like he just got off of a sinking oil tanker."

"Awww, you're such a good boy," Yaku mocked again wiping some grease off his hand with a new clothe. "I'm sure you'll make a great husband some day."

"Thanks for your encouragement," Kokuro said chuckling. "How bout you? How do you know so much about all this?"

"Just a hobby of mine really," Yaku said. "I like taking things apart and putting them back together, probably why I like the XYZ monsters so much. They all connect and disconnect. I can change them into many different things, it's just fun. Plus they are powerful."

"Well that's cool. I've always been into magic and magicians and things like that so when I got a bit better at the game and got better cards I turned my old crappy dark deck into a magician deck."

"Whatever works right?" he said smiling.

"Whatever works," Kokuro agreed laughing.

"I first got started with mechanics through my dad," Yaku explained. "He owns his own small Fix It shop. He taught me a lot of what I know, then I went on to take a mechanics class in high school."

"Seems like you have been doing it for a while," Kokuro said.

"You bet!" Yaku said smiling again.

Kokuro glanced over at the clock hanging on the wall and stood up stretching. "Well, I have to get going," he said.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow in History."

"See you there," Kokuro said. "Bye Hitoku!" he called back waving.

"Thanks again Kokuro!" Hitoku called back from the inner area of the mechanics room where he was working.

Kokuro got through the academy and walked towards the Ra Yellow Dorm. On his way there a sneaky idea came into his head. As he got into his room he called out, "Who wants to come give me a hug?"

Mia came running from around the corner of the room and stopped immediately when she saw his greasy clothes and his messed up hair. "Nice try Mr. Slick," she said.

He gave her a look between amusement and annoyance, "and I thought you would have loved to give me a hug," he said giving off fake sadness.

Mia shook her head, "you're cute but unfortunately I don't like them when they're greasy, just not that kinda gal."

Kokuro rolled his eyes and walked over to the desk to see Sonomi hanging out in her top bunk, "You know what I never understood?" she asked.

"What's that?" Mia and Kokuro asked at the same time.

"Why the Ra Yellow rooms used to have regular beds but now they have bunk beds."

Mia looked thoughtful for a moment and then turned to Kokuro, "You know, I don't know."

"Bet I do," Kokuro said with a wide smile.

"What are you smiling about?" Sonomi asked.

"Just the fact that I know something you don't," he replied.

"Grace us with your wisdom," she said jumping off her bunk bed and giving him a fake bow. "We are not worthy." Mia chuckled and Sonomi gave a look with fake shock, "Mia, how dare you laugh in the presence of our Sensei. Bow before him and beg his forgiveness."

"Oh, Sensei, how could I have wronged you?" Mia mocked and got on her knees and bowed.

"You two are a bunch of smart…"

"Watch your mouth 'Sensei,'" Sonomi scolded.

Kokuro rolled his eyes and looked at the two of them, "in any case, when I found out I was accepted they told me how they were low on space, that's why we ended up being put together. So my guess is that they didn't have enough beds either so we had to settle for bunk beds."

"Makes sense to me," Mia said.

"I suppose," Sonomi said as her eyes darted around the room. Then she noticed an envelope on their desk. "Oh, by the way, you received a Duel Appointment Form," she said to Kokuro.

"A Duel Appointment Form, what is that?" Kokuro asked.

"Whenever a student wants to duel another student, they put in a Duel Request Form," Sonomi explained. "The student puts down when they want the duel, whom they want to duel against, and the reason for wanting to duel that particular student. The form then goes through the administration and if they accept it, they send a Duel Appointment Form to the person challenged. If for some reason that person can't make it, they can return the form to the administration proposing a different time that the duel can take place. If the challenger can't make it then they put in for a time change until a compromise is made."

"So long story short," Mia began, "Someone wants to duel you and the administration has approved it."

"But that isn't the way I've done it before," Kokuro pointed out.

"True, but everything you have done so far is a Drop Off Duel," Mia explained. "Basically it means you challenge the person face to face and you duel at that time. So far every time someone has wanted to duel you they have made the challenge in front of you. The Duel Request Forms make it easier for students to get in contact with whomever they want to duel. Plus duels made through appointments tend to get publicized due to one person telling another so a crowd will usually show up."

"Oh great," Kokuro said rolling his eyes, "more rabid fans."

Mia chuckled, "that's the price for popularity."

Kokuro walked over to the desk where the envelope containing the Appointment Form sat, "perhaps it's from that Ami girl who keeps e-mailing me. Maybe she's finally ready to meet me face to face." He finished opening the envelope and then unfolded the appointment form skimming it quickly. His curious face soon turned into one of disgust. "Ritsuzen," he said lowly.

"Ritsuzen?" Mia asked.

"Makes sense," Sonomi said with annoyance in her voice. "He wanted to face you when you were heading off to have your duel with Kazuki. He's wanted to get at you ever since you beat him, it's to be expected that he set this up."

Kokuro narrowed his eyes slightly at the piece of paper, "Fine Ritsuzen, you want a rematch, I'll give you a rematch." He turned to look at his two friends, "how do I accept?"

"You don't have to," Sonomi replied. "You only have to let the administrators know if you are unable or unwilling to attend. Otherwise you just show up at the time shown on the paper." Kokuro nodded and she looked at him with a slightly strange look, "However you might want to first get all that grease off you."

"I planned on it," he said grabbing a towel from the bathroom and walked out the door without another word.

"He's still upset at Ritsuzen," Mia said slowly.

"Who wouldn't be?" Sonomi asked.

"When does the duel start?"

Sonomi went over to the desk and looked at the paper, "in an hour."

* * *

Ritsuzen was sitting in his room looking over his deck smiling sinisterly, "Well, I haven't heard any denials yet," he said half talking to himself and half to Kyusai-Sensei. "I can only believe that Kokuro has accepted my duel request." 

"It would appear that way," Kyusai-Sensei said. "However I would advise being cautious. You have a weak rank in Ra Yellow. If you lose to Kokuro again it will drop you down right back into Osiris Red."

"I have no doubts that I will succeed in winning this time," Ritsuzen said still looking over his cards sinisterly. "He beat me by shear luck last time, plus he recently lost to Ishihaka so I'm positive he's still shaken up about that. This is the perfect opportunity to take him out. His confidence is in question and all he has to go on from before is luck." Grabbing his duel disk he slid it onto his wrist while stuffing his deck into his pocket. Picking up his briefcase he turned to Kyusai-Sensei and said, "If you want to watch my triumph back into Obelisk Blue you can tag along, but don't expect a long duel."

* * *

An hour later Kokuro was standing in the Ra Yellow Duel Arena and on the opposite side of him was Ritsuzen. Sonomi and Mia were sitting in the audience as well as pretty good crowd of students who had come to watch the duel. Kokuro had his eyes narrowed at Ritsuzen while Ritsuzen was just smirking at him. 

"Professor Hikari once told me that I would disgrace the honor of Ra Yellow," Kokuro said to Ritsuzen, "but I think you do a much better job of that than I do."

Ritsuzen kept his smirk in place and chuckled, "you have so much anger against me Kokuro, all because I insulted you and your friends. In reality it should be I who has anger towards you, however I realize that we all must be lucky once in a while."

"You say that me defeating you was nothing but luck," Kokuro said with anger in his voice, "but when I defeat you a second time you will realize I don't need luck to beat someone like you."

"And just what is some one like me?" Ritsuzen said smirking.

"You're an egotistical jerk who gets upset when he doesn't get his way."

"I'm so hurt," he said faking pain. "Would you like to know what I think you are?"

"I'm sure you would get expelled for using foul language," Kokuro said flipping the top of his deck box open and pulling out his deck. He shuffled it a few times and slid it into his Duel Disk causing it to fold out.

Ritsuzen pulled his deck out of his pocket and shuffled it a bit before placing it in his own Duel Disk and watched as it folded out. "I'm sure you won't mind if I go first," he said drawing his 6th card.

Kokuro drew his five cards and looked at Ritsuzen, "You may go first or second, the outcome will be the same."

"Do you think that mimicking what I told you the first time we dueled makes you tough?"

"You were mocking me last time," Kokuro told him, "this time I'm stating a fact."

"Well, if you want to mock me, I'll mock you, lets skip the pre-banter chit chat and get straight to the dueling." With that done he scanned his cards and picked one setting it face down, "one monster on guard," he stated as the card appeared on the field. "I shall then set one card under the table and complete my turn."

Kokuro drew his 6th card and looked over the cards in his hand, "I summon Skilled White Magician!" he called out as his white robed mage appeared on the field. (1700/1900) "White Magician, attack his monster!" The magician let out a stream of white magic that hit a small, brown monster holding a spear.

"You destroyed my Spear Cretin," Ritsuzen said smirking. "Usually once it is reversed and destroyed we may each take a monster from our graveyards and summon them to the field either in face up attack or face down on guard. But as you may have noticed neither of us have any monsters in the graveyard so his effect does not activate."

'He's up to something,' Kokuro thought. 'Normally I would think that a move like that was something only an amateur would make, but I realized last time that he has hidden strategies behind even the most seemingly useless moves.' "I'll set two cards under the table and end my turn," Kokuro said as the two cards appeared on his side of the field behind his Skilled Magician.

"Then I shall begin my turn," Ritsuzen said drawing a card. He looked down at it and gave a sinister smirk to Kokuro, "to begin I shall place one card under the table," he said as his card appeared. "Next I shall activate a spell known as Black Hole." A black hole appeared in the center of the field and pulled the Skilled Magician into its swirling vortex before closing up again. "Now that you have a clear monster field I shall summon Giant Orc." Ritsuzen's large Orc appeared on the field wielding its large club. (2200/0) "I'm positive you remember him from our previous duel."

"How could I forget a monster that ugly?" Kokuro asked.

"Beauty is only skin deep Kokuro," Ritsuzen said smiling slightly. "Giant Orc, attack the player." The large orc charged towards Kokuro when he called out.

"Reverse Trap, Magic Cylinder. Not only will it protect me from your attack but it will cause you to lose the Life Points I would have just lost." Kokuro began to smile when suddenly a rune circle appeared underneath his cylinders. A purple fog came from the circle and the cylinders began to dissolve away. Kokuro stood stunned as the Giant Orc brought its club down onto Kokuro making him fall to his knees. (5800) "What just happened?" Kokuro gasped as he looked across the field to see one of Ritsuzen's cards was reversed.

"It's rather quite simple actually," he said smirking, "I activated my Trap Jammer. This handy trap can only activate during the battle phase and will stop one trap you try to activate. I had a feeling you would try to use one of your pesky magic tricks so I had this already set for when you tried to spring it."

"Oh no!" Mia exclaimed. "Ritsuzen was one step ahead of Kokuro."

"He must have been studying Kokuro's deck and modified his to counteract it," Sonomi said worriedly.

"It sure seems that way," Yaku said walking up to the two girls and taking a seat next to Sonomi.

"How did you know where we were?" Mia asked.

"You two always try to sit as close to Kokuro as possible," he replied. "All I had to do was figure out which side of the arena you two were on."

"Do you think Kokuro can beat Ritsuzen?" Mia asked him.

"It's truly hard to say," Yaku responded. "Kokuro is a good duelist but as we all know, one doesn't become a Legend just by getting good grades. Ritsuzen is a powerful opponent, and he's smart too. It makes a deadly combination that can be difficult to overcome."

"You guys are acting as though Kokuro can't win!" Sonomi said getting upset.

"I'm not saying he can't win," Yaku said trying to defuse Sonomi. "I'm just saying that he has a tough challenge ahead of him. I don't want to put Kokuro down, but he truly did just win through luck last time. If he wants to beat Ritsuzen this time, he needs to rely more on skill than luck."

"I'm sure he'll put up a good fight," Mia said.

"I'm positive he will," Sonomi said turning back to the duel.

"As you know, my Orc switches on guard now," Ritsuzen said switching the position of his card on the disk. The Orc fell asleep and began snoring loudly. "That shall complete my turn."

Kokuro drew his card and smiled when he saw it, "I summon Spear Dragon," he said summoning it immediately. Ritsuzen's eyebrow rose ever so slightly as the blue dragon with the beak like mouth appeared on the field. (1900/0) "Spear Dragon, attack Giant Orc!"

The Spear Dragon opened its beak-like mouth and released a swirling vortex of wind, which destroyed the orc and went on to hit Ritsuzen in the chest. He let out a small grunt as his Life Points lowered but his smirk soon returned. (6100) "I'll admit I didn't count on you summonimg Spear Dragon. However I did count on you destroying Giant Orc and that makes all the difference." Ritsuzen's set card reversed and suddenly a large hand came out of the ground and grabbed the Spear Dragon into the ground with it. "If you couldn't guess I activated my Michizure."

Kokuro let out a small growl, "Just make your move."

Ritsuzen smirked while Mia looked worried, "Now he has another chance to strike Kokuro's Life Points."

"That's right," Yaku said. "He keeps himself one step ahead of Kokuro at all times making it even harder for Kokuro to win.

Sonomi began getting angry again, "if you two don't shut it I'm moving."

Ritsuzen drew his card and placed it into his hand reaching for another card, which he put onto his disk, "Wall of Illusions to attack mode," he said as purple wall with skeleton bones as the frame and a weird head with red hair in the middle appeared on the field. (1000/1850) "Attack the player!" he called out as the monster's eyes began to glow red and the mouth shot out a stream of dark purple energy that hit Kokuro in his chest. (4800) "I believe that was enough damage for one round."

"Thanks for your generosity," Kokuro growled as he drew his card. He looked down to see his Fire Princess, 'this card combined with my face down will defiantly help," he thought to himself. "I summon Fire Princess!" Kokuro called out as a girl in red robes with silver hair wielding a brown staff appeared on the field. (1300/1500) "Take out his Wall of Illusions!" The princess' staff began to glow a fiery red and flames shot out of it knocking into the dark wall destroying it.

Ritsuzen smirked as his Life Points dropped, (5800) "You have activated my Wall of Illusions' special ability."

"Which in turn has activated my card," Kokuro announced as his face down card flipped up. "Divine Wrath! Here is how it works, I have to discard one card from my hand, to make the effect of one of your monsters negated and destroy that monster. Your Wall is already in the graveyard but at least my Fire Princess will stay on the field." Kokuro took Sages Stone from his hand and dropped it into the graveyard.

Ritsuzen's eyebrow rose slightly again, "I'll admit that was impressive, but in the end you have _still _played into my hand," he announced as he drew his card. "I now remove Spear Cretin, Giant Orc, and Wall of Illusions from my graveyard in order to summon an entirely new demon!" His Duel Disk let out a dark light as the three cards slid out of it and he placed them into his pocket. He then took a card from his hand and slapped it onto his disk. A pink aura appeared and began to circle around the field until it came to rest on Ritsuzen's side of the field. The aura turned into a blue woman wearing silver and purple armor. It held a broken baby doll in its hand and a purple aura surrounded it. (2200/2800) "Meet Dark Necrofear," Ritsuzen said smirking.

"Now Kokuro is in trouble," Yaku said. "Dark Necrofear posses an extremely powerful special ability. Whenever it is destroyed it can equip to one of Kokuro's monsters and then he will get control of Kokuro's monster."

"He'll get past it," Sonomi said said confidently.

"Dark Necrofear, attack Fire Princess!" Ritsuzen commanded. Suddenly the woman's eyes began to glow red and red beams of energy shot out of its eyes hitting the Fire Princess in the chest destroying her.

Kokuro watched as his Life Points dropped once more. (3900) "Well, I don't know what to say," he said.

Ritsuzen smiled, "I see I have left you speechless."

"You sure have," Kokuro said. "You sacrificed three of your monsters just to bring out one with an attack power of 2200? It's better off being put into defense position."

"My monster is far more formidable than any of yours can ever be."

"Then why don't we just test that theory?" Kokuro asked.

"Fine with me, do your worst."

"I'll do better than my worst," Kokuro said drawing his card, "I'll do my best!" Suddenly Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia all heard the sound of Hane Kuriboh and sure enough it was just what Kokuro had drawn. 'I'll use you momentarily,' he said as he placed it into his hand and took his Old Vindictive Magician and placed it face down. "One monster on guard and that ends my turn," Kokuro said.

Ritsuzen drew his card and frowned slightly, "This isn't exactly the best monster to use to get to your Life Points but at least it's something. I summon Archfiend Soldier," he said as his demon appeared on the field wielding its long sword. (1900/1500) "I'm sure that your monster is something that you feel will help save you from Dark Necrofear so I will give you the pleasure of knowing that there is no saving you from it. I activate Creature Swap, now we each chose a monster on our field and switch control of them. You only have your face down monster so you have to give it to me."

Kokuro growled as he took the card and flung it over to Ritsuzen. Ritsuzen smirked at the card once he saw what it was and put it on his field face down. He then took his Archfiend and tossed it over to Kokuro who placed it on the field in attack mode. "Dark Necrofear, attack Archfiend Soldier right now!" The blue woman shot another blast of red beams at Kokuro's side of the field. It struck the Archfiend destroying it. (3600) "That completes my turn."

Kokuro growled as he drew and placed the card in with his others. A small plan began to form in his head on how to defeat Dark Necrofear. "I set one monster on guard and one card under the table and end my turn," Kokuro said the face down cards appeared on his side of the field.

"It's a shame you will not have the pleasure of keeping yourself safe," Ritsuzen said drawing. "I activate Gravekeepers Servant." The little scythe-wielding goblin appeared on the field just as it did in their previous duel. "In case you have forgotten every time you declare an attack you must discard the top card off the top of your deck. Not that it matters now that I am reversing your Old Vindictive Magician to destroy your last line of defense." The old magician with the humpback appeared on the field firing a blast of red magic at the face down monster (450/600). Hane Kuriboh (300/200) appeared on the field was instantly destroyed.

"Look's like I got you," Kokuro said. "Once Hane Kuriboh is destroyed it will prevent all battle damage I take for the rest of the turn."

Ritsuzen had a look of annoyance on his face now, "I would like to regain my position at Obelisk Blue quickly, so stop delaying the inevitable and just give up."

"If I did that I wouldn't have the pleasure of beating you," Kokuro said with his eyes narrowed again.

"It is impossible for someone like you to beat me, my turn is done."

Kokuro drew his card and was pleased to see what he had drawn. 'This will allow me to make the step needed to defeat his Dark Necrofear,' he thought to himself. "I set one monster on guard and end my turn."

Ritsuzen drew his card and immediately summoned it to the field, "I summon Fear From The Dark," he said as his shadow monster rose up onto the field, (1700/1500) "Fear From The Dark, attack whatever monster he put up as a defense!" The shadow monster disappeared into the shadows and reappeared right in front of Kokuro's monster card. It brought its claws down only to be stopped by a woman in yellow robes holding a large golden harp. (800/2000) The harp began to glow and the dark shadow returned to Ritsuzen's side of the field as his Life Points dropped slightly. (5500)

"I hope you remember my Spirit of the Harp," Kokuro said. "I'm sure it remembers you."

"Dark Necrofear destroy that fairy!" Ritsuzen called out. The monster began its attack when black chains suddenly wrapped themselves around it halting its attack and lowering its attack points. (1500/2800) "Damn Shadow Spell Trap," Ritsuzen muttered.

"I kind of liked it," Kokuro said smiling.

"I switch your Old Magician on guard and end my turn."

Kokuro drew his card and immediately played it, "Pot of Greed," he said drawing two new cards. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon on your Gravekeepers Servant card!" Kokuro announced as an electrical wind spun itself towards the goblin and blew him away. "Now I offer up my Spirit of the Harp in order to summon Chaos Command Magician!" The woman and harp vanished and the green robed magician with its green staff with the ruby in the center on top appeared on the field (2400/1900).

Ritsuzen muttered, "No, this can't be."

"Oh it can be," Kokuro said looking at his magician.

"Way to go Kokuro!" Mia cheered.

"I knew you could do it!" Sonomi called out to him.

Yaku nodded in satisfaction, "looks like Kokuro knew the effect of Dark Necrofear all along."

"Would sure seem that way," Mia agreed.

Sonomi sat there watching Kokuro smiling as he stared at his magician and couldn't help but smile herself, 'way to go Kokuro,' she thought to herself.

"Ritsuzen," Kokuro said getting his attention. "Now do you understand? I have the skills necessary to beat you. Luck is always a good thing to have on your side, but without knowing how to play the hands luck gives you, it doesn't mean a thing."

"How can you still be so confident after your stunning loss to Ishihaka?" Ritsuzen asked angrily.

"Kazuki?" Kokuro asked. "It was just one duel. I don't dwell on the past Ritsuzen, I learn from it so I can overcome it the next time around. Besides, he _is_ number 1 in the school. It takes out some of the sting when you know you played a great match against a great duelist. Hopefully when this duel is over you will realize that as well."

"I won't lose," Ritsuzen said angrily. "You may be able to defeat my Necrofear and negate her effect, but I've still got stronger cards in my deck."

"Have it your way then," Kokuro said. "Chaos Command Magician, attack Dark Necrofear!" The Magician twirled its staff around in its fingers gathering a ball of red magic at the tip of the staff before firing it at the Dark Necrofear destroying it. Ritsuzen shielded himself from the wind that had picked up as his Life Points went down. (4600) "That ends my turn," Kokuro declared.

"Which begins mine," Ritsuzen said angrily drawing his card. "I activate my own Pot of Greed," he declared as he drew two new cards. "Perfect," he said smirking. "You may have gotten ahead of my Dark Necrofear but as always I am always one step ahead of you. I activate Tribute to the Doomed, and by discarding my Pyramid Turtle I can destroy your Chaos Command Magician." Mummy wrappings came shooting out of Kokuro's graveyard slot and wrapped themselves around Chaos Command Magician slowly dragging him into the graveyard.

"That was an interesting way to get rid of a monster," Mia said a little intrigued by the holographic images. By now the rest of the audience was concerned less about the holographic images and about who would win the duel. The arena had become almost completely quiet except for the two competitors on the field.

"I sacrifice your old mage and summon my Vampire Lord!" Ritsuzen called out as his Vampire appeared on the field standing next to his shadow creature. "Vampire, attack the player," he called out as the vampire released a hoard of bats from its cape that went towards Kokuro and began screeching at him.

Kokuro dropped down to his knees covering his ears as his Life Points lowered. (1900) "I'm not out of this yet," Kokuro said.

"You may as well be," Ritsuzen said. "My Vampire will also take a monster from your deck and send it to the graveyard."

Kokuro stood up and pulled out his deck. Looking through it, he came to his Black Magician of Chaos and then looked at the Premature Burial in his hand. 'Once he attacks with his Fear From The Dark I won't be able to bring it back,' he thought. 'However, maybe if my next draw comes up good, I won't need it,' he slid his Black Magician of Chaos into his graveyard slot and then shuffled his deck placing it back in the Duel Disk.

"Fear From The Dark, attack the player!" The shadow monster crept through the shadows and appeared behind Kokuro slashing him across his back with its shadowy claws sending Kokuro to his knees again. (200) "That completes my turn," Ritsuzen announced.

By that time the entire arena had guessed that the outcome of the duel would be in Ritsuzen's favor. Even Mia and Yaku were beginning to doubt that Kokuro could win. In their hearts they new he was a good duelist but it just didn't look like Kokuro was going to be able to pull another lucky draw.

"I guess this is the end," Mia said. "I feel really bad that Kokuro has to lose to a jerk like him."

"Don't give up yet," Sonomi said to Mia. "He's come out of some pretty tight spots, he can do it again, he just needs a bit of luck, and confidence from his friends." She stood up and yelled out to Kokuro, "I believe in you! Kick this jerks butt!"

Mia watched Sonomi's act and then stood up to join her, "Don't let him get away with all the bad things he's said to us!"

Kokuro turned to look at Mia and Sonomi and gave them a thumb up. The arena began to murmur with small conversations, wondering if Kokuro could actually pull it off.

Yaku looked at Kokuro and sighed, 'I wish I could share their enthusiasm Kokuro,' he thought. 'I really do, but unfortunately I don't see you winning this duel.'

Kokuro drew the top card off of his deck and looked down at it, his graveyard suddenly began to shine as two cards slid out of it. "I remove Old Vindictive Magician and Hane Kuriboh from play in order to special summon Chaos Sorcerer!" Kokuro called out. Suddenly his purple skinned sorcerer with its black cape appeared on the field. (2300/2000) "Chaos Sorcerer, attack Fear From The Dark!" The Sorcerer began chanting and then let loose a blast of purple magic that hit the shadow monster destroying it. The whole audience began to cheer as Ritsuzen's Life Points fell. (4000) "That ends my turn."

Ritsuzen let out a growl as he drew his card, "I set one monster on guard and shift Vampire Lord on guard and complete my turn," he announced as his Vampire shifted into a defensive stance and a card appeared in front of him.

Kokuro drew his card and looked down to see what he had drawn. "I set one card under table," Kokuro announced as his card appeared in front of him. "Chaos Sorcerer, remove Vampire Lord from play!" he called out. The sorcerer began to chant as a bubble of magic appeared around the Vampire Lord and disappeared leaving the vampire trapped inside. "That ends my turn."

Ritsuzen drew his card and looked down only to let out a small scowl, "I activate my second Gravekeepers Servant and end my turn," he said as the goblin appeared on the field.

"Before you end your turn I chain your activation with my Solemn Wishes," Kokuro announced as his trap flipped up. Kokuro drew his card and his Life Points increased slightly. (700) "I summon Skilled Black Magician," Kokuro called out as his black robed magician appeared on the field. (1900/1700) "Skilled Black Magician, attack his monster!" The magician let out a black stream of magic that hit another Spear Cretin, which was easily destroyed.

"I bring back my Pyramid Turtle on guard," Ritsuzen announced as another monster face down card appeared on the field.

"Thanks to your Vampire Lord I can now bring back my Black Magician of Chaos!" Kokuro called out as his blue skinned magician in blue armor appeared on the field. (2800/2200) "Also with his effect I bring back Pot of Greed," Kokuro announced as his graveyard began to shine and the Pot of Greed slid out of the slot and he placed it back in his hand. "Black Magician of Chaos, attack his Pyramid Turtle! Scepter Blast Attack!" Kokuro announced as the magician let loose a ball of magic that destroyed the Pyramid Turtle. "And because your Turtle didn't go to the graveyard you can't activate it's special ability," Kokuro said proudly. "Chaos Sorcerer, attack the player!" The sorcerer let loose a blast of magic that hit Ritsuzen in the chest and caused his Life Points to drop. (1700) "That ends my turn," he announced.

Ritsuzen drew his card and smirked when he saw it. "I set one monster on guard and end my turn," he announced as the card appeared on the field.

Kokuro drew his card and allowed the sparkling rain to fall on him raising his Life Points, (1200) "I activate Pot of Greed!" Kokuro announced as he drew two more cards and his Life Points increased again, (1700) "Our Life Points are tied but not for long," he announced. "I activate Premature Burial to bring back Chaos Command Magician," Kokuro said as his green robed magician appeared on the field once again. (900) "Chaos Command Magician, attack that face down monster!" The magician let loose a blast of red magic that struck Ritsuzen's last Spear Cretin.

"Due to Spear Cretin's effect I now bring the one already in my graveyard onto the field face down," he announced.

"It won't matter," Kokuro said as he returned Skilled White Magician to the field in attack mode. "Black Magician of Chaos, wipe out that monster!" The other magician let loose a blast of blue and black magic that connected with the Spear Cretin destroying it. "Because my Magician of Black Chaos removes monsters from the game instead of sending them to the graveyard you can't activate the effect of your Spear Cretin bringing back your other one ending the chain."

Ritsuzen let out a low growl, "Damn you!" he shouted at Kokuro.

"Skilled White Magician, attack the player!" Kokuro called out as the magician let loose a blast of white magic that hit Ritsuzen in the chest and dropped his Life Points to an exact zero. (0) The Magicians on Kokuro's side of the field nodded to him before dissolving away. The entire arena burst into loud cheers however Mia and Sonomi were cheering the loudest while Yaku stood there dumbstruck. Mia and Sonomi jumped over the railing from the audience seats and ran up to the arena hugging Kokuro making him blush a bright red.

"You were awesome Kokuro! I'll admit you had me worried for a moment but Sonomi reminded me you came out of worse situations." Mia screamed in his ear.

"I believed in you the entire way," Sonomi said. "I knew you wouldn't lose to a creep like him."

"Thanks," Kokuro said blushing even more.

Kyusai-Sensei walked over to Ritsuzen and shook his head at him, "You realize that because of this defeat your ranking will be dropped back down to Osiris Red right?" he asked even though he knew Ritsuzen was already well aware.

"Be quiet," Ritsuzen said standing up. "Kokuro!" he called out angrily. Kokuro, Mia, and Sonomi all turned to look at him. "Just know that I will return to defeat you. You won through luck yet again, and because of it I will not give up. I will defeat you the next time I face you."

"That's what you said about him and luck last time!" Sonomi called out to him. "And look where it got you. If I had to guess I'd say a little bit of luck is all anyone needs to defeat you." Ritsuzen narrowed his eyes at her before picking up his briefcase and walking off with Kyusai-Sensei in tow.

Yaku walked up to Kokuro to shake his hand, "Kokuro, I have to admit I lost faith in you. I didn't think you would pull it off. I have never been happier to be proven wrong. Congratulations."

"Thanks," he said shaking his hand.

"I kind of lost faith for a while there too…" Mia began to admit to Kokuro but he stopped her.

"It doesn't matter, because in the end you were rooting for me to win right next to Sonomi and that's what counts."

Mia gave a smile and her peace sign, "I guess that means I'm forgiven for doubting you."

"I could have very well lost," Kokuro said. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out Hane Kuriboh, "but this little guy saved me twice," he said smiling as him, Sonomi, and Mia all heard it let out a small cheer. They all turned to smile at each other leaving Yaku to wonder what it was they were smiling about.


	20. Mechanical Mayhem

Sdrive: If I owned the world…I would make a mandatory Duelist Academy for all duelists to go too…oh, disclaimer? Don't own it. Oh, and Jordan is a character by one of my friends. He ain't mine neither. One final note, hopefully some time in the near future, though I greatly doubt it, I'm hoping to make a Duelist Academy website. I hope to allow it to bring all the latest news about updates, or lack of them, and stuff like that. And now that I have photoshop maybe even the pictures of Cards I'm currently making, but not the Time Cards, that would require knowing how to draw. I'll keep you all posted on the website if it ever comes into fruitation.

* * *

It had been a day since Kokuro's duel with Ritsuzen. Life had returned to a sense of normalcy since then and Kokuro was up in his room studying. Mia and Sonomi were out bathing so Kokuro had the room to himself. His Ipod was on the desk next to him and he was humming to himself as he tried to do some math homework. He felt his PDA vibrate in his pocket and he pulled it out looking at it. He turned off his Ipod and saw that his options on the PDA were to view or to cancel. "View?" he asked. He clicked it and suddenly an image of Kahou appeared on his PDA and began talking.

"Hey Kokuro, it's Kahou…incase you couldn't tell. I know that it probably wouldn't be as nice as being in the Ra Yellow Cafeteria but I was wondering if you wanted to come to the Osiris Red Dorm to hang out for a while. It's grilled cheese day if that helps you any. If you don't want to I understand, I just thought it would be nice to catch up since we haven't talked since the Nature Hike a week ago. I won't count the Quarterly Exams since you weren't yourself then. Hope to see you here." The image disappeared and it left Kokuro speechless.

Just then Mia and Sonomi had walked through the door, they were in their uniforms but their hair was still damp. "Hey Kokuro, what's up?" Mia asked as she came in.

"My PDA started vibrating but instead of an e-mail it was a visual," he said. They looked at him kind of funny and he showed them the message he had received.

"Oh that," Sonomi said. She pointed to a lens at the top of the PDA, "this lens here is so that we can make a video message and send that instead of having to type it out. That is the method that most students use."

"Oh, that's cool," he said looking at the lens. Then a thought occurred to him, "If students can do that, why doesn't that Ami girl who keeps e-mailing me do that?"

"Maybe she doesn't want you to see what she looks like," Mia guessed.

"Or maybe she just doesn't know," Sonomi said. "Just like you didn't know three seconds ago."

"Well she must have some sort of knowledge about them if she can send messages to you without knowing your IP address," Mia said.

"What if she does know my IP address," Kokuro asked.

"And how do you propose she got it?" Sonomi asked.

"I…don't know," he admitted.

"So, are you going to go see him?" Mia asked.

"I don't see why I shouldn't," Kokuro said. "Besides, you heard him, it's grilled cheese day."

"You're going just to go have grilled cheese?" Sonomi asked stunned.

"Well, I will be seeing Kahou too…" Kokuro began.

"Save it," she said pushing him out the door. "Go have fun eating your grilled cheese."

Kokuro let out a nervous laugh and headed off to the Osiris Red Dormitory. Kokuro looked around but couldn't seem to find where he was going. He took out his PDA and used its map to find where the Osiris Red dorm was. When he saw where it was his jaw slightly dropped, "at the edge of a cliff?" he asked himself. He shrugged and walked off towards the direction of the Osiris Red Dormitory.

Once he got there his jaw dropped all the way, "This is a dormitory? It looks more like an outhouse," he said as he looked up at the 'dormitory.' It was a two-floor complex that was painted yellow with a red roof looking over a cliff at the ocean. He remembered seeing some pictures from the Training Video but he didn't realize it was this bad. He gulped slightly and walked over towards the dormitory and saw Kahou waiting for him down by the entrance.

"Hey what's up?" Kahou asked him.

"Um…" was all Kokuro could say at the moment. "Nice…dormitory?"

"Yeah, you can say it," he said. "It's an apartment building rather than a dormitory. But it's my home right now and I don't mind. The only real complaint is the cockroaches but they don't bother me as much as they do the others in my room. I guess just because they know I'm a master roach killer, they stay away from me."

Kokuro couldn't help but chuckle and smile, "I better make sure I never become a roach then."

"That's right," Kahou said smiling. "So, you want to come inside? I promise it won't fall on top of you," he said chuckling.

"I'm not going in there until I go get my hard hat," Kokuro said as they both shared a laugh. Afterwards they both went inside to look around. There was a small desk on the left and bunk beds to the right. It was considerably smaller than the Ra Yellow room and looked like it could be broken into with little effort. "So…this is it?" Kokuro asked.

"Yup, home sweet home," Kahou said.

"I must say, I'm a little surprised you didn't pass the quarterly exams," Kokuro said. "I mean, with that deck alone you should have been able to win in a flash."

"Actually, I did win, but I chose to stay in Osiris Red," he admitted.

"What?" Kokuro exclaimed. "Why?"

Kahou began to blush a bit, "Well, there was just certain advantages to staying in Osiris Red."

Kokuro looked at him as though he were crazy. Kokuro understood first hand that not all of the Obelisks respected too many of the Ra's and that the Osiris' must get even less respect. He then noticed Kahou blushing and got a large smile on his face, "is this the work of a girl?" Kokuro asked elbowing Kahou in the chest.

Kahou began scratching the back of his head, "I guess you could say that."

"So…what's her name?" Kokuro edged.

"Well…" just then his PDA went off. "That's my alarm. It's time for dinner."

"Great I'm starved!" Kokuro said as he followed Kahou out of the room and they walked over to the other end of the dorm. Kokuro just happened to get a glimpse of a room at the far right of the dorm with the curtains drawn. He couldn't put his finger on it but he felt that the dorm room seemed familiar to him. "Hey Kahou, who's in the dorm room up there," he said pointing to the room.

"Oh, that's Ritsuzen's room," Kahou said a tad nervously.

Kokuro instantly understood why the room seemed familiar to him, "Are we going to be seeing him down at the cafeteria?" he asked.

"No. He has Kyusai-Sensei get his dinner for him and he eats up in his room," Kahou explained.

"At least that is one thing I don't have to worry about," he said letting out a sigh of relief.

"What other things do you have to worry about?" Kahou curiously asked.

"You mean besides the whole place falling on me?" Kokuro said smiling as Kahou laughed. They walked into the room and all the Osiris Red students that were eating there instantly stopped as soon as they saw Kokuro enter. Some people dropped their forks and the room went deathly silent except for the sound of a door being opened and closed in the back of the cafeteria. Kokuro looked over towards the door but all he saw was the end of a shoe running out of it. He turned back to see all the other students with their grilled cheeses and other food just staring at him. "Ummm…hi?" he said nervously.

Just then Jukata-Sensei walked over to him and Kahou, "I don't know where everyone's manners have gone so let me be the first to say welcome."

"Thank you," Kokuro said bowing to the teacher.

"And to what do we owe this special visit?" Jukata-Sensei asked.

"I invited him here so we could catch up," Kahou said bowing.

"Well, I hope that our accommodations are to your liking," Jukata-Sensei said to Kokuro.

"No worries there, I'm a fairly easygoing guy," he said smiling.

"Yeah," Kahou agreed. "I hear everyone is relaxed when they know their doom is coming. And they find even more comfort when it's a roof falling on them." Kokuro laughed and then Jukata-sensei.

"Well, I hope you had a good life while you were here," he said as some of the other students even began to chuckle. "Come on kids, where are your spirits? Rather than be worried that a Ra Yellow has come to see us, we should embrace the fact that it is the inspiration of all of us."

Kokuro got a little nervous, "I'm really not that much of an inspiration," he began.

"Nonsense," Kahou said. "If you hadn't done what you did at the beginning of the year you would be sitting here eating with us all the time. It's truly an inspiration for all Osiris Students to try harder."

"I can see we are making him uncomfortable," Jukata-Sensei said. "So instead of treating him like a Ra Yellow, let us just treat him as a fellow first year. Tonight we will forget ranks and just enjoy dinner."

Kokuro nodded, "Sounds good," he said as he and Kahou sat down at a table and began eating.

* * *

Once everyone was done eating Jukata-Sensei stood up, "Well, I am sure everyone enjoyed having Mr. Samé's company," he said. "But while we all know that Mr. Samé will only be here for a short time, I would like to introduce you all to someone who will be here much more often, Mr. Sabre, will you please stand up?"

Just then a boy in an Osiris Red uniform with spiky black hair, blue eyes, and a little over 5 feet tall stood up next to Jukata-Sensei. "Students, this is Jordan Sabre, he has transferred here from a school in America. His parents moved to Japan due to a job change and now he has transferred from the Academy in America to here. I trust you will all treat him with the utmost respect?"

"Yes Jukata-Sensei," all the Osiris Red students said.

"Well Mr. Sabre, why don't you tell us some things about you?" Jukata-Sensei asked him.

"Well, um…I like to duel, make new friends, and hang out with people."

"Well that's really nice," Jukata-Sensei said smiling. "Care to share your deck idea?"

"Well, I'm not sure how good I would rank with some of the higher ups here but I want to be the best Machine Duelist."

"A very admirable goal," Jukata-Sensei said. "Hopefully your times here at the academy will help you to be accomplish your goals."

"Thank you," Jordan said bowing before he and Jukata-Sensei sat back down.

Kokuro turned to Kahou, "Looks like you and Yaku have competition," he said.

"What are you talking about?" Kahou said confused. "My Time Monsters are all Spellcasters."

"They are!" Kokuro said surprised. "They all look like machines!"

"I know," Kahou said reaching into his pocket and pulling out his deck. He flipped through it and stopped when he reached Time Wizard. He showed it to Kokuro. "The Time Monsters all have unique effects that allow them to travel through time…well not all of them, but you get the idea. And because of it, just like the Time Wizard they are considered Spellcasters."

"Now I really wish I could add Time Magician to my deck," Kokuro said in a gloomy voice as Kahou laughed at him.

* * *

Later on that night Kokuro had headed back to his own dormitory and was telling Mia and Sonomi how it went. "…and then after dinner, we did some studying. I think I helped him out a bit. It's like he said, he likes to study other duelists but isn't all that good on anything that really isn't his Time Monsters," he told them.

"Well, it sounds like you had a lot of fun anyway," Mia said smiling cheerfully.

"Well, it sounds like that new student would probably want to duel Yaku if he had ever found out about him," Sonomi said.

"Yeah. Yaku sure likes his XYZ Monsters," Kokuro pointed out.

"Not just that," Sonomi said surprising him a tad bit. "You said that this Jordan kid said he wanted to be the best Machine Duelist, a title that Yaku himself is after," she explained.

"I didn't realize he was after that title," Kokuro said pondering a bit. "I just thought he liked his XYZ Monsters…" He pulled out his PDA and looked at it, "Can these things act like a video phone too?" he asked.

"If you have the IP number of whoever you are trying to get in contact with it can," Mia said.

Kokuro entered his Address Book and clicked on a number after having Mia show him how to activate the lens so he could use it. He spoke quickly to Kahou and then continued on to another call. After a few rings, Yaku's face appeared on the PDA with a surprised look, "Hey Kokuro, I see you figured out how to use the PDA to its fullest extent."

"Yeah," Kokuro said. "Hey, I got some info I thought you might like to know."

"And what is that?" Yaku asked curiously.

"There's a new transfer student in Osiris Red who says he hopes to one day be the best Machine Duelist in the world. I thought it would be cool if you dueled him."

"Well, he is only in Osiris Red, I don't want to embarrass the poor guy."

"It's like I said earlier, he's a transfer student. You know the rules; he has to start off in Osiris Red because of it. For all we know he could have been in Ra Yellow or even Obelisk Blue where ever he came from."

"I guess that's true," Yaku said. "So, when did you become the duel prompter?"

Kokuro let out a laugh, "I just figured that two guys with the same goals going at it is one of the best matches that could ever be played. Remember how I went against Tejin for the Black Magician?"

"How could I forget? That was one intense duel!"

"Exactly, so I'm sure that two machine duelists going at it would be just as intense."

"Maybe you're right," Yaku said. "How do I get in contact with him?"

"I asked Kahou to get in contact with him. It shouldn't be too hard since the dormitory there is so small."

Yaku started chuckling, "Yeah, I remember my first year in Osiris Red…man I hated those cockroaches."

"I'm _really _glad I started off in Ra Yellow now."

"We're glad you did too," Mia said walking up to him.

"Hi Mia," Yaku said through the PDA.

"Hi Yaku," she said back.

"Well, I'll keep you posted," Kokuro said.

"Thanks Kokuro," Yaku said.

"No problem," Kokuro said as he turned off the PDA.

"Well, hopefully you haven't just condemned this poor Osiris Red student to a year of misery due to a humiliating defeat," Sonomi, said.

Kokuro looked over at her and just gave her a weird look, "You're thinking way to pessimistically about this," he said.

"Whatever you say," she said as she crawled up into her bunk bead. "I'm heading off to sleep early, I got a big test for Fusion tomorrow…and I'm not that good in the Fusion aspect."

"Have a good night," Kokuro told her.

"You too," she said. "Night Mia."

"Good night," Mia responded.

* * *

At the Osiris Red Dormitory Kahou had found Jordan hanging out by the Osiris Red Duel Arena. The Duel Arena was a small outside field that looked more like an out door Pokémon Arena without the Pokéball in the middle. "Hey!" Kahou said coming up to him.

Jordan turned around "What's up?" he asked.

"Do you remember that Ra Yellow student who was sitting next to me when Jukata-Sensei first introduced you today?"

"How could I forget? He stuck out like a sore thumb in his yellow uniform around all the red uniforms."

"Well, he heard you say that you wanted to become the greatest Machine Duelist and he just happens to know someone who has the same goals. So he thought that you might want to duel his friend."

Jordan got a smile on his face, "I don't know how I would fare against some of the top duelists in the school, but when it comes to being a Machine Duelist, I can hold my own. Tell your friend that I accept the challenge."

"Will do," Kahou said smiling. He walked off back to his room and contacted Kokuro telling him it was a go.

* * *

The duel was scheduled to be two days later and when that time came Yaku was getting excited. Him and Kokuro were in Hitoku's mechanics room doing various jobs. Yaku was sanding something with an electric sander and Kokuro was watching him. Kokuro started wondering if the wood was supposed to be smoking as bad as it was. Not wanting to take any risks he unplugged the sander causing it to abruptly stop. "What was that for?" Yaku asked Kokuro annoyed.

"I don't think you are paying attention to what you are supposed to be doing," Kokuro answered.

Yaku looked down at it and sighed, "Yeah, I guess I'm just too excited about the duel."

"I can see wanting to have fun and prove you're the better machine duelist, but you are really excited about this."

"Can you blame me? You went got excited to duel Tejin for the Black Magician…"

"He started it off by insulting me," Kokuro corrected. "That whole time I was defending my honor as a Magician Duelist."

"I suppose that is true," Yaku said. "But you still can't blame me for being excited," he said again.

Kokuro let out a friendly sigh, "I suppose I can't."

Once the two were done there they headed back over to the Ra Yellow dorm so that they could pick up Mia and Sonomi. The two didn't do anything with grease this time so they did not have to change clothes. Kokuro walked into the door and yelled out, "Who wants to give me a hug?"

Sonomi just happened to be walking by and was tackled by Kokuro in a hug. "What are you doing?" she asked.

Kokuro let out a sly smile and let go, "I was expecting Mia to come around the corner."

Sonomi's eyes narrowed and she gave him a look of annoyance, "you should really grow up." Kokuro opened his mouth to speak but Sonomi cut him off, "and I need to relax, yeah I know."

"Actually I was going to ask if you two were ready for Yaku's duel," he said smiling.

"Mia just finished getting dressed," Mia said walking over to them.

"Mia is talking in third person," Kokuro pointed out.

"Mia is glad Kokuro noticed," Mia said laughing.

"Sonomi is getting annoyed at Mia and Kokuro," Sonomi said narrowing her eyes at them.

"Well I could have told you that," Yaku said walking out with a matter-of-fact tone in his voice.

The three just stared at each other, shrugged, and walked out of the room to follow him. They headed towards the direction of the Obelisk Blue Dueling Arena. When they got there they saw Jordan and Kahou standing there waiting for them. Kokuro walked over to Jordan and shook his hand, "I'm Kokuro Samé, and I'm the one who set up this duel."

"Jordan Sabre," Jordan replied shaking. "It's nice to meet you."

"And I am your opponent," Yaku said walking over to Jordan shaking his hand. He noticed that Jordan's hand was slightly trembling, "are you ok?"

"I just didn't realize I would be dueling an Obelisk," he replied.

"Don't sweat it," Yaku said. "From what I've heard you are confident in your abilities as a Machine Duelist. You should do fine."

Jordan lightened up a bit until he saw Mia and Sonomi. "This is Mia Notosa and Sonomi Hinote," Kokuro said introducing his two friends. "They came with me to watch the duel."

Jordan became silent and stood there nervously. Mia and Sonomi gave each other a look. Deciding there was nothing wrong with each other they turned to look at him directly. He got really nervous and turned away quickly walking towards his side of the arena. The two girls looked at each other again with a strange look on their face.

Kahou walked over to them and shook his head, "It's not you," he said to them. "It's your gender."

Sonomi became instantly offended, "He's sexist!" she practically shrieked. "Does he think girls aren't good enough to duel? Yaku move over I'll take him out!" she yelled.

"No it's not that!" Kahou said calming her. "He's shy around girls. Won't go near them."

"Oh," was all Sonomi could say.

Yaku jumped up onto the platform and pulled out his deck shuffling it. 'I guess it's finally time to test out those cards Elda gave me,' he thought. 'My last duel was during the Quarterly Exams and I got XYZ Dragon Cannon out so early the duel didn't last 6 turns. True it was against a duelist who had good grades and bad dueling skills but it doesn't change the fact that the duel didn't last long enough to test out the cards. Well, I won't let that stop me. I'm going all out,' he finished shuffling his deck and inserted his deck into his Duel Disk causing it to fold out.

'Alright, here we go,' Jordan thought to him self as he shuffled his deck. 'If I win this, I'll have defeated my first opponent at Duelist Academy, and an Obelisk Blue for that matter.'

'I wonder if there is anyplace I could get some popcorn,' Kokuro thought to himself.

"I sure hope you are ready for this," Yaku said to Jordan.

Jordan nodded and drew the first cards in his hand, "I'll let you go first," he said barely audible.

"Alright then," he said as he looked over his cards and drew his 6th. "Well, I suppose this is as good an opener as any," he said taking a card from his hand. "I summon X Head Cannon," he said as his machine monster with its two cannons on its shoulders appeared on the field. (1800/1500) "I'll then finish my turn by setting two cards under the table." Yaku's two cards appeared on the field in front of him and the turn passed over to Jordan.

Jordan drew his card and looked over his hand, "Well, if you use what I think you do, then I have a monster far more formidable than any of your XYZ cards." Jordan said with confidence rising in his voice. "Since you have one more monster on the field than I do and there are no other monsters on my side of the field I can special summon Cyber Dragon!" he called out as the large metallic dragon appeared on the field roaring loudly. (2100/1600) "The Cyber Dragons are the new XYZ monsters. They too can fuse with each other and they create better fusions than the XYZ monsters ever could."

"I highly doubt that," Yaku said determined.

"Then I'll just have to show you," Jordan said. "I also summon Mechanical Chaser!" he called out as the orb robot with the multiple arms and spears appeared on the field. (1850/800) "Now I'll equip my Cyber Dragon with 7 Completed," he announced as the card attached to Cyber Dragon and rose it's attack power. (2800/1600) "This card can either raise the attack of a machine by 700 or the toughness of a machine by 700. Now, Cyber Dragon attack his X Head Cannon!" The dragon roared again and let loose a blast of fire from the flamethrower in its mechanical mouth.

"This won't save my X Head Cannon but it will save some of my Life Points, I activate Rare Metalmorph to increase the attack power of my X Head Cannon!" X Head Cannon's attack power rose up before it was blasted by the Cyber Dragon. (2300/1500) (7500)

"Mechanical Chaser, attack the player!" Jordan called out as the machine ran a spear through Yaku making him drop to his knees. (5650) "That ends my turn," Jordan said proudly.

Yaku stood up breathing heavily and drew his card. He looked down at it and smiled, it was one of the new cards that his sister had given him. "I activate Soul Exchange," he said sliding it into his disk. Suddenly Cyber Dragon vanished and suddenly a large dog-like mechanical creature appeared. It was made out of all kind of gears and silver armor. (2000/2000) "Say hello to Antique Gear Beast!" Yaku said. "It may have weak stats for a 6 star monster but it makes up for it in its effect. Unfortunately Soul Exchange stops me from being able to attack this turn so I'll end it to you.

"Way to go Yaku!" Mia cheered.

Jordan began to get nervous as he remembered that Mia and Sonomi were out in the audience watching the duel. He looked over at them and then nervously drew his next card. He looked over his hand and then smiled when he saw the move he could make. "I sacrifice my Mechanical Chaser for Blowback Dragon," he said as his monster vanished and a machine with a body of a dragon and the head of a giant laser gun appeared on the field, (2300/1200) "It looks as though I have summoned yet another monster stronger than yours," he said. "I activate Blowback Dragon's special ability. I have to flip three coins and if at least two of them are heads I can destroy any card on your side of the field." Three coins appeared on the field and they all started spinning. They jumped into the air and they all started spinning on their sides.

"If this goes through then Yaku could lose his Antique Gear Beast!" Mia exclaimed.

"And then he would be in for a direct attack," Sonomi added.

Jordan looked over at the two girls and started to get nervous again. His attention got drawn back to the duel when Kokuro said, "They're coming to a stop."

One coin landed on Heads. Yaku looked a tad nervous, and Jordan smiled. The second coin landed on tails and everyone's expressions changed, wondering what the last coin would come up as. The coin slowly came to a stop and landed on a…tails. Mia, Sonomi, Kokuro, and Yaku all let out a sigh of relief, Jordan let out a growl and Kahou was thinking about Yaku's good luck.

"It doesn't matter, Blowback Dragon, attack Antique Gear Beast!" he called out as the laser began to charge up and blasted the monster into a pile of rubble. (5350) "That ends my turn," he said.

Yaku growled and got worried. Now he had to worry about another powerful machine type monster. He drew his card and played it immediately, "Pot of Greed," he said as he drew two new cards. He smiled as he saw he had the cards he needed to beat Blowback Dragon. "I activate Premature Burial," Yaku called out as his card appeared on the field. I pay 800 Life Points in order to bring X Head Cannon back to the field." Yaku's Life Points lowered as his X Head Cannon reappeared onto the field. (4550) (1800/1500)

"I easily destroyed that monster last time, I'll do it again this time," Jordan said with confidence he didn't really have. He had a feeling he knew what was coming next, his only hope was that Yaku didn't have the means to summon both of the other XYZ monsters to the field.

"I activate Frontline Base," Yaku called out as his continuous spell card appeared on the field. "Now I can special summon one level four or lower union monster from my hand. So now I special summon Z Metal Caterpillar," he announced as his yellow tank monster appeared on the field. (1500/1300) "Now for my normal summon, it's none other than Y Dragon Head," he called out as his metallic red dragon appeared on the field. (1500/1600)

"Way to go Yaku!" Mia cheered.

"Good job," Kokuro commented.

'That has to be the luckiest draw I've ever seen,' Kahou thought to himself.

"And now comes the time we have all been waiting for," Yaku said. "I remove X Head Cannon, Y Dragon Head, and Z Metal Caterpillar from the game in order to summon the mighty XYZ Dragon Cannon!" The wings on Y Dragon detached while X Head Cannon got on top of it. Y Dragon folded up its legs as two slots on Z Metal opened up at the very top. Y Dragon got on top of Z Metal and they sparked with energy as they finished joining. (2800/2600) "You see, the XYZ monsters have so many ways to combine that they couldn't expect an XYZ deck to work without all of the fusions so there was no way to combine them with Fusion. So the XYZ's merely need to be removed from play. As for your Cyber Dragons, they need to be fusion summoned with Fusion and they only have two fusions. Plus, since they can only fuse with each other, you can only have 3 copies of each of them, where as I can have three copies of each XYZ monster. As you can see, the XYZ Monsters are better."

"Your XYZ monsters take up too much space in your deck!" Jordan said. "Where as with the Cyber Dragons I can put in better cards to make them even more deadly."

"Congratulations," Yaku said mockingly. "XYZ Dragon Cannon, destroy Blowback Dragon!" he called out. The laser cannons on the mighty machine all started powering up and shot out multiple blasts blowing the Blowback Dragon back and into thousands of pieces. Jordan's Life Points fell for the first time during the duel. (7500) "That ends my turn," Yaku said smiling.

Jordan drew his card and looked down at it. "I'll prove to you the power of the Cyber Dragons!" he called out. "I play Monster Reborn," he called out as suddenly his Cyber Dragon reappeared on the field. "Now I play Fusion," he called out as he discarded his last card in his hand and placed the Cyber Dragon on the field back into the graveyard. A second Cyber Dragon appeared on the field and they entered a swirling vortex, which caused them to form into one long Cyber Dragon with two heads. (2800/2100) "Cyber Twin Dragon!" he called out. "With it's two heads it has the special ability to attack twice in a battle phase. However since both of our monsters attack points are equal I can see that it's effect doesn't matter at the moment so I will end my turn," he said as he folded his arms now that his hand was empty.

"You are forgetting all about my XYZ Dragon Cannon's special ability," Yaku said as he drew from his deck giving him one card in his hand. He looked down and sighed, "You got lucky this round," he said. "I set one card under the table and end my turn."

Jordan drew a card and sighed when he realized it wasn't anything that would allow his Cyber Twin Dragon to overcome Yaku's XYZ Dragon Cannon. "I summon Cannon Soldier," Jordan called out as a machine with a small-barreled cannon on it's back appeared on the field (1400/1300) "I now use Cannon Soldier's ability to sacrifice itself to do 500 points of damage to your Life Points!" The Cannon Soldier started to spark with electricity and shut down as it fired a blast at Yaku hitting him in his chest. (4050) Cannon Soldier broke apart and the smaller pieces vanished. "That ends my turn."

Yaku drew to find he was now holding Machine King. He smiled knowing that he was about to take away most of Jordan's Life Points. "Reverse Return From The Different Dimension!" Yaku called out as the card he had set a turn earlier reversed and a swirling vortex appeared in the sky. "In order to play this card I must first sacrifice half of my total Life Points," Yaku explained as his Life Points lowered. (2025) "Now I may bring back as many monsters as I can that have been removed from play onto the field." Suddenly X Head Cannon, Y Dragon Head, and Z Metal Caterpillar came through the vortex and landed on the field. "My monsters would have to be removed from play at the end of my turn but good thing I plan on removing them right now. Now combine my monsters!" Yaku called out as his X Head, Y Dragon, and Z Metal reformed to create another XYZ Dragon Cannon (2800/2600)

"Oh no!" Jordan called out as Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia began congratulating Yaku.

"Now I discard Machine King from my hand in order activate my first XYZ Dragon Cannon's ability to automatically destroy your Cyber Twin Dragon!" The lasers powered up and blasted away Cyber Twin Dragon destroying it. "Now, both Dragon Cannon's, attack the player!" Yaku called out as they both released a round of missiles and lasers that hit Jordan in the chest throwing him onto his back making his Life Points drop significantly. (1700) "That ends my turn," Yaku said proudly.

Jordan growled as he drew a card and instantly played it, "Card of Sanctity," he called out as a shining light came from above them and they each drew 6 new cards. "I activate Premature Burial to bring back Cyber Dragon!" he called out as his Life Points lowered and his mechanical dragon reappeared on the field. (900) (2100/1600) "Now I play Monster Reincarnation. I discard Barrel Dragon from my hand in order to bring Cyber Dragon back to my hand," Jordan explained as he discarded Barrel Dragon and Cyber Dragon slid out of his graveyard and he took it. "Now I activate Fusion, fusing the Cyber Dragon on my field and the two Cyber Dragon's I now have in my hand in order to summon Cyber End Dragon!" Suddenly all three Cyber Dragon's appeared on the field and joined together in the swirling vortex to make a large Cyber Dragon with three large heads all staring down at the XYZ Dragon Cannon. (4000/2800)

"How is Yaku supposed to beat that monster?" Mia asked.

"His XYZ's special ability," Sonomi answered.

"But what about Cyber End Dragon's ability?" Kokuro asked.

"Unlike Cyber Twin," Kahou began. "Cyber End has a trample effect, it can't attack twice. So unless he has a way to destroy the second XYZ Dragon Cannon, Jordan will lose next turn."

"Cyber End Dragon, take out that XYZ Dragon Cannon!" Jordan commanded as the dragons let loose multiple electric blasts destroying one of Yaku's Dragon Cannons and blasting his Life Points as well. (1200) "I set one card under the table and end my turn," Jordan said as his card appeared in front of him.

"Yaku drew his card and smiled. "I have to thank you," he said. "This was a fun duel but it's going to end now. "First I play a second Frontline Base," he said as his second spell appeared on the field. "Now I special summon both Z Metal Caterpillar and Y Dragon Head," he called out as his two monsters appeared on the field.

"What is he doing?" Mia asked.

"He's going overboard again!" Kokuro said shocked. "I thought he realized not to do this the first time!"

"Now I normal summon X Head Cannon!" he exclaimed as his X Head Cannon appeared on the field. "Now fuse!" he called out as his three monsters formed into the XYZ Dragon Cannon. "I have to thank you again," he said to Jordan. "I've always wanted to summon all three of my XYZ Dragon Cannons in one duel. You've given me this. Now I discard Magic Drain from my hand to have the first XYZ Dragon Cannon destroy your Cyber End Dragon." The XYZ Dragon Cannon blasted away all of its missiles and destroyed Jordan's large dragon monster. "Now, my new XYZ Dragon Cannon, attack the player! Finish this duel!"

"He completely disregarded Jordan's face down card!" Sonomi said stunned.

"Reverse Dimension Wall!" Jordan called out happily! "This card will make you take the damage I would have taken! Looks like you finished yourself off for me."

"Oh no!" Mia called out.

"He's going to lose just like he lost to me!" Kokuro exclaimed.

"Afraid not!" Yaku called out to Jordan as the card he had face down since the first turn was reversed. "I learned to be prepared since my duel with Kokuro and to only do something slightly overboard if the odds were in my favor. Reverse Seven Tools of the Bandit!" he called out. Yaku's Life Points lowered and a Swiss Army Knife went flying towards the two cylinders destroying them both. (200)

"NO!" Jordan called out as the XYZ Dragon Cannon's missiles and lasers slammed right into Jordan knocking him backwards depleting his Life Points. (0) The monsters dissolved away as the Holo-imagers shut down. Yaku walked over to help Jordan up.

"Good game," Yaku said to him as Jordan stood up. "But as you can see the XYZ monsters are better," he said smiling.

"It was a good game," Jordan said shaking his hand, "But I'm still in the belief the Cyber Dragons are better. I'll prove it next time too."

"I look forward to it," Yaku said.

"Way to go Yaku!" Mia said running up to him and hugging him.

"Thanks Mia," Yaku said.

"Congratulations," Sonomi said to him as she walked up.

Kokuro ran up and gave Yaku a high five, "The only thing I have to ask is was it worth it to ruin the sander?"

"Yes it was," Yaku said laughing.

Kahou went over to congratulate Jordan at a good first duel. "You did your best, no reason to be disappointed."

"I know," Jordan said.

"Yeah, you had a really great duel," Mia said smiling. Jordan got quiet again and looked down.

"Well, I'm happy with the intense duel," Kokuro said. He stretched out and yawned, "That was so intense even I'm exhausted, and I was just watching," he said laughing.

"I'm ready to go to sleep too," Mia said.

"I suppose we are leaving," Sonomi said. "It was nice to meet you Jordan," she said as they started to head off.

"I'll race you back to our room," Mia said to Kokuro.

"I know I can beat you at this," Kokuro said to her.

Jordan looked up and just watched them start to walk off, "Wait…are you three in the same dorm room?" he asked Kokuro.

"Yup," Kokuro said smiling putting one arm around Sonomi who he almost strangled since she was still walking forward and Mia who was standing right next to him, "These are my roomies!"

"How can you stand sleeping in the same room with two girls?" Jordan asked astounded.

"Same way I would sleep in the same room with two boys…in different beds," he said.

"That's not what I mean," Jordan said annoyed. "How can you not get nervous sharing the room with two girls?"

"Are you kidding?" Kokuro asked. "These two are just like my sisters."

Sonomi looked at Kokuro for a moment before looking back at Jordan, "Yeah, it's just like we're all family," she said in a soft voice.

"Best of friends!" Mia said smiling and giving off her peace sign.

Kokuro pulled his arms off his friends and headed towards the exit. "See ya later Yaku."

"Bye Kokuro!" Yaku waved. "Good night Kahou…Jordan," he said nodding to Jordan.

"Good night," they said and they all watched as Kokuro and Mia ran off.


	21. Setsuna the Charmer

Sdrive: Well, time for another chapter. Hope you all enjoy it. Also, I am currently only up to chapter 23 in advanced, and it's not even finished. My writing time has been cut in half due to school and chores. Although it pains me to do so I think Duelist Academy will be put on hold after chapter 23. I will continue to work on it but I won't post. I wouldn't be able to keep my Friday Schedule if I didn't. I will try to keep you all posted.

* * *

Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia had just returned to their room after watching Yaku's duel with Jordan. Kokuro was breathing hard and gave Mia an annoyed look, "Is there anything I can beat you at?" Kokuro was referring to losing the race back to the dorm room.

"I'm sure you will find something," she said chuckling.

Sonomi was sitting at her desk looking over something online, "That's interesting," she said absentmindedly.

"What is?" Kokuro asked as his breathing began to return to normal.

"I'm looking at the Academy's home page and apparently we will have a visitor coming soon."

"What kind of visitor?" Mia asked curious.

"The famous kind," she said chuckling. "Does the name Jonouchi Katsuya ring any bells?"

"Wasn't he Yugi Mouto's best friend?" Mia asked.

"More than that," Kokuro added, "he was also an exceptionally skilled duelist. One that Master Kaiba didn't really like for a long time either if I remember correctly."

"They didn't for the longest time," Sonomi replied. "But after a while they came to respect each other a little. And it seems that the Deck Exhibit is coming up in a few days."

"What's the Deck Exhibit?" Kokuro asked.

"It's when the academy features a special deck from some of the best duelists ever and puts it on display," Mia explained. "It has a bigger meaning though than to just attract attention. It gives the students who have a hard time winning a chance to look at a deck used by a pro duelist and give them idea's of what kinds of cards they should and shouldn't use."

Kokuro frowned slightly, "but if everyone uses all the same cards then the originality of the game goes away. Everyone will just be playing with what will always win. The challenge of trying to actually win with a deck you created by yourself disappears."

"It's more of a way to give student's pointers," Sonomi said turning around from the computer. "It show's the kids all the different strategies used by pro duelists and helps them to in turn build a deck to their liking. For instance, Master Kaiba always used dragons while Jonouchi used a lot of warriors. Even if a deck looks similar it doesn't mean that the strategies used are the same. You saw it for your self with Yaku and Jordan. Yaku prefers the XYZ monsters and Jordan plays with the Cyber Dragons. They both use Machine Cards but their strategies are completely different and in turn make their decks unique."

Kokuro's frown turned into a smile, "When put that way I guess it is a pretty cool idea."

"Plus it attracts a lot of attention," Mia said. "Who wouldn't want to see the deck of a champion?"

"True enough," Kokuro said.

Sonomi turned back to the computer, "and it just so happens that this year's deck exhibition is Jonouchi Katsuya's. From what I've read Jonouchi always enjoyed the fame so it makes sense that he would be coming in person."

"But usually the deck owners don't come with the deck, I wonder why he is?" Mia pondered.

"Like I said, he loves the fame," Sonomi said. "He probably wants to be there to sign autographs."

"I think duelists should be with their decks, even if they are going on display," Kokuro said standing up. "Something could happen and the deck could get stolen. As long as they are there with their decks it's less likely something will happen to them."

"I suppose that's true," Mia said yawning. "Wow, I'm tired."

"Yeah, I'm heading off to bed in a moment," Kokuro said. "I'm going to be going to the library tomorrow. I have to make up that essay I missed in Professor Hikari's class and I want to go somewhere quiet so I can concentrate."

"Alright," Sonomi said shutting off the computer. "Good luck, it was a nightmare."

"Wouldn't expect anything less from Professor Hikari," Kokuro said chuckling. The others began to laugh as well and then they all got ready for classes the next day before going to bed.

* * *

The next day classes had gone by slowly for Kokuro. He wanted to get to the library so he could get to work on his essay but it didn't seem like that time would ever come. Finally once his last class was over he packed up his things and headed down towards the library. On his way down there he met Yaku in the halls.

"What's up Kokuro? You going to be helping me in Hitoku's today?"

"I can't, I have to do an essay for Professor Hikari," he responded.

"Ouch, that's a tough break. Well, maybe next time then," he said. He gave Kokuro a high five and then headed down the hall.

Kokuro just watched as Yaku walked down the halls and smiled, 'I've made so many friends since coming here. It's almost hard to believe.' He soon began walking towards the library.

He found his way to the library and walked inside. Like any other library there were books in shelves and tables that held computers. He noticed that there were quite a lot of people at the computers and got worried that he wouldn't be able to get onto one. He walked down the aisle and soon found an empty computer next to an Osiris Red student who seemed to be concentrating on whatever they were doing. He walked over to the student and noticed that this particular student happened to be wearing a small red cap. He felt as though he should know this student but wasn't entirely sure.

He tapped the student on the shoulder, "Excuse me but is this seat taken?" he asked.

"No," the student said absentmindedly. Kokuro set his bag down and began to start up the computer. As he sat down the student just happened to glance at his face and suddenly gasped. They quickly picked up their bags and in a rush knocked over their seat as they stood up.

"Are you alright?" Kokuro asked.

"I'm fine," they said quickly and then ran towards the exit of the library.

"What a strange kid," Kokuro said. He got up to pick up the chair the student had knocked over and noticed they had left the computer on. As he was about to shut off the computer he glanced at the screen and gasped. On the screen were his student photo as well as his rank and other things including his deck type. He glanced back at the door where the student had left and then at the computer screen. He called a teacher over to look at the screen, "could you tell me what this is?" he asked them.

"This is the Student Directory," the teacher answered. "With this students can check up on other students to see what their rank is and other types of information. All they need is the students PDA Address.

Kokuro thanked the teacher and once they had left sat down in the seat and just stared at the screen. "Who was that student?"

* * *

Later on that night, after Kokuro had finished his essay, he went to the cafeteria to have dinner with Sonomi and Mia. He told them about what he had found on the other student's computer screen and about how they suddenly ran out of the library.

"Well, the description of the student sounds familiar," Mia said.

"She looked familiar too but I couldn't place where I had seen her."

"I bet I can," Sonomi said. The two looked at her before she continued, "you mentioned that on the way to the card shop to get the booster packs you knocked down an Osiris Red student who had a red cap on."

"That's true," Mia said. "The Osiris Students don't wear caps so it must be something this student brought themselves."

"You know what I think?" Kokuro asked. "I think that this student is somehow connected to my mysterious friend Ami."

"What makes you think that?" Mia asked.

"The Student Directory," Sonomi said.

Kokuro nodded, "they need my PDA Address in order to access that information. I can't think of any other way they could have gotten it, unless Kahou gave it to them, but I don't think he would have done that without first asking me."

"I'm starting to get nervous about this whole thing," Mia said. "Someone, or someone's, are giving Kokuro messages without explaining how they are doing it. They have his PDA Address and seem to be trying to get information on him."

"I don't see any reason to get nervous," Sonomi said. "They haven't sent any threats and if I remember you got the first message the very first day. However, the fact that they got your address on the first day does concern me a little."

"I think I'm going to go see Setsuna tomorrow," Kokuro said. "I'll ask her if she remembers anything else about the Osiris Red Bandit."

"I'll go with you," Sonomi said.

"Don't forget me," Mia said smiling and giving off her peace sign.

* * *

The next day after classes the trio of friends headed of towards the card shop. They went in and Kokuro noticed that there was one Magician's Force pack left. He quickly snatched it up and went to the counter. Setsuna was startled when he put it in front of her face, "last one!" he said with a slight giggle in his voice. "I have the last one!"

"Oh great," Sonomi said. "He's about to start foaming at the mouth, I guarantee it."

"Well, I'm glad for you," Setsuna smiled. She took it and took his Duelist Card and rang it up. She handed both back to him when he was done and smiled. "You are all set."

Kokuro got an insane look in his eye as he tore up the pack to see what was in it. Gloom soon fell on him, "Apprentice Magician is the rare. I already have three."

Sonomi couldn't help but laugh and patted him on the back, "looks like your luck with booster packs sucks."

He growled at her under his breath and turned to Setsuna, "I came to ask you if you could remember anything about the Osiris Red Bandit?"

Setsuna shook her head, "I'm afraid not. Just that they were wearing a red cap, which is strange since that isn't part of the actual Osiris Red outfit."

"Well, I think it's safe to say that this student is the same as the one we met on our way here and the same one I saw bolting out of the library yesterday."

"Should I notify you the next time they come here?" Setsuna asked.

Kokuro thought about it for a moment, "yeah, but you don't have to try to keep them here. Just try to see if you can notice anything unusual about them."

"Alright I will," Setsuna said happily.

"So what now?" Mia asked. "We've run out of leads."

Kokuro sighed, "I know."

"Did you ever think that maybe the student is shy?" Setsuna asked.

Kokuro looked up at her, "What gives you that idea?"

"Well, every time they come in here they seem to be crossed with nervousness and anxiousness."

"That would have been information we could have used," Sonomi said.

"I didn't think of it until just now," Setsuna admitted. "If it is truly the same student, maybe they keep running away because they are shy."

"Or idolizes him," Sonomi said.

"Or both," Kokuro finished. They looked at him and he explained, "If they do idolize me then that would explain buying out all the Magician Force booster packs and looking me up in the student directory. And if they are shy it would explain running away."

"But why would they idolize just you?" Mia asked. "Why not someone like Kazuki, or Sonomi?"

"I don't know!" Kokuro said getting a little frustrated.

"Calm down," Sonomi said.

"I just don't understand that part of it and it's starting to get to me."

"What you need is a good duel!" Setsuna said brightening up. "And it just so happens no one has won the LPC today."

Kokuro looked at Setsuna, "I don't know if I'm really up to it at the moment."

"I would really do it if I were you, the prize is pretty nice," she said.

"Alright, I'll give it a shot," Kokuro said pulling out his Duel Disk from his backpack and sliding it on. He grabbed his deck and shuffled it before sliding it in causing the Duel Disk to fold out. "So, what's the challenge today?"

"Today's is a real toughie," she said. "You have to do 3000 points or more of battle damage to me from one monster's attack alone."

"Same time limit?" he asked.

"That's right!" she said smiling. "However I did change my deck around a bit. That doesn't make it any less tough though."

"I'm sure," he said. He watched her unfold her Duel Disk and get ready. She pressed the button and the timer appeared. "Ladies first," he said.

"Thank you," she said as she drew her hand and pressed the button. The timer began to start and she began her first turn. "I'll summon White Magician Pikeru," She said as the small white robed magician appeared smiling sweetly. (1200/0) "I'll then set one card under the table and end my turn," she said as the card appeared on the field.

Kokuro drew his 6th card and looked over his hand. He saw his Sorcerer of Black Magic in his hand and smiled, 'That is what will help me win this duel,' he thought to himself. "I summon Skilled Black Magician," he called out as his black robed magician appeared on the field with its arms crossed holding it's silver staff. (1900/1700)

"Reverse Trap!" Setsuna called out. "Wall of Revealing Light! I'll pay 4000 Life Points in order to keep my Pikeru safe," she said as her Life Points fell and a giant glowing wall appeared on the field. (4000)

"I figured as much," Kokuro sighed. "I'll set two cards under the table and that ends my turn," he said as the two cards appeared behind his Skilled Magician.

Setsuna drew her card and smiled at it. "I gain 400 Life Points for having Pikeru on my side of the field," she said as her Life Points rose. (4400) "I set one monster on guard," she said as a monster card appeared horizontally on her side of the field. "That ends my turn."

Kokuro drew his card and thought about what he could do. 'If I don't knock down that wall I'm going to be in trouble. But maybe this will work for now,' "I summon Fire Princess," he said as the red robed girl with silver hair appeared on the field. (1300/1500) "I'll set another card under the table and end my turn," he said as his card appeared on the field. Kokuro glanced up at the clock to see it had just reached 7:29

"It's my turn," Setsuna said drawing her card. Pikeru began to glow and Setsuna's Life Points rose by 800. (5200) "I reverse my monster, Hita the Fire Charmer," she announced as suddenly a girl with red hair, tan robes, and a staff appeared on the field. (500/1500) "When this card is flip summoned I can take control of one monster on your side of the field, and I choose your Fire Princess," she said as Hita's staff began to glow and Fire Princess walked over to Setsuna's side of the field. "As long as Hita stays on the field I can keep control of your monster. And to make sure she stays on the field I'll activate Heart of Clear Water," she said as Hita began to glow.

"I'm reversing Solemn Wishes," Kokuro sighed.

"Well, it wouldn't have helped you win the actual challenge but it sure would have helped try to stop my Life Point gain. But now you are in danger due to Fire Princess being on my side of the field."

"I know," Kokuro said. "Also, when you activated Heart of Clear water my Skilled Black Magician gained a counter."

"I set one monster on guard and end my turn."

Kokuro drew and the sparkling rain fell down onto him increasing his Life Points. (8500) "I'll set one monster on guard and end my turn," he said as his monster card appeared on the field.

Setsuna drew her card and then smiled, "Alright, so I gain 1600 Life Points and since I gained Life Points Fire Princess will now take away 500 of yours." Pikeru began to glow with white magic and Setsuna's Life Points increased. (6800) Fire Princess began to glow with fire and then sent a stream of it from her staff right into Kokuro causing him to lose 500 Life Points. (8000)

"Looks like Fire Princess will just keep me at 8000 due to Solemn Wishes," Kokuro noted.

"I suppose so," Setsuna said. "Now I activate Scroll of Bewitchment. This card will equip to a monster and change it's type. So I'm equipping it to your Skilled Black Magician," she said.

"Reverse Spell Shield," he announced as the machine appeared on the field and the barrier protected Skilled Black Magician. "I'll be keeping my magician thank you."

"I'm sorry," she said, as she showed him a second Scroll of Bewitchment, "but I'm going to be equipping him with this one then." The Scroll appeared in Skilled Black Magician's hand and he began to read it. "I'm changing your Skilled Black Magician into a water type so that I can reverse Eria the Water Charmer." A girl with Blue hair, the same tan robes as Hita, a green shirt underneath, a short blue skirt, and blue staff appeared on the field. "And now she will take a water monster on your side of the field, and I choose your newly liquefied Skilled Black Magician. Skilled Black Magician went over to Setsuna's side of the field and stood next to Eria.

"Kokuro's in a lot of trouble," Sonomi said looking up to see the time was at 5:45

"I'll say," Mia said. "He can't attack, and she has a full field of monsters."

"Skilled Black Magician, attack his face down monster!" The magician began to power up its attack when Kokuro called out.

"Reverse Magic Cylinder!" he called out. Two cylinders appeared on the field. Skilled Black Magician's attack went through one and came out the other and knocked into Setsuna. (4900)

"Are you ok?" Mia asked her.

"I'm fine," Setsuna said, "Fire Princess, attack the monster!" The Fire Princess let out a stream of fire that hit an Apprentice Magician destroying it.

"I now search for another Apprentice Magician!" Kokuro called out as a new card appeared on the field.

"White Magician Pikeru, attack the other Apprentice Magician," she called out as the White Magician let loose a blast of white magic. It hit the other Apprentice Magician and destroyed it.

"I'll search for my Old Vindictive Magician," Kokuro said placing it face down.

"I switch Hita on guard and end my turn," she said as Hita took a defensive stance and its card appeared underneath it.

Kokuro drew his card as the sparkling rain fell down on him. (8500) "I activate Pot of Greed," he said as his the large green pot appeared. He drew his two cards and it blew to pieces. Sparkling rain fell onto Kokuro and his Life Points rose again (9000) He looked at his hand and a thought occurred to him. "Setsuna, as long as it is from one monsters attack, does it have to be direct battle damage?"

"Well, if you have the ability to get a monster strong enough to attack one of my monsters and do 3000 points of damage it will count."

Kokuro smiled, "I reverse my old mage," he called out as the hunch-backed magician appeared on the field. "Destroy Eria the Water Charmer!" The Magician let out a blast of red magic and destroyed Eria. Skilled Black Magician then shook its head and walked over to Kokuro's side of the field.

"Uh oh," Setsuna said.

"Now that Kokuro has his Skilled Black Magician back he has a chance!" Mia cheered.

"When I activated Pot of Greed Skilled Black Magician got its last spell counter. But I'm not ready to do that yet, so I offer Old Vindictive Magician to summon Black Magician Girl!" he called out as the old mage disappeared and the lovely Magician Girl appeared on the field in a shower of hearts. (2000/1700) "Now I activate Sages Stone, this will allow me to summon Black Magician from my deck!" he announced as his Black Magician came onto the field. (2500/2100) "Now I offer up both magicians so I can summon the Sorcerer of Black Magic!" he announced as both of his magicians disappeared and a sorcerer in black robes holding a long scepter with an orb on the very top (3200/2900).

"That sure is one rare card Kokuro, but I'm afraid it is still too weak to get past my wall of Revealing Light."

"I'm sorry Setsuna, you're a good duelist, but it's time for me to win this duel. I activate Mage Power and equip it to my Sorceror." The Sorceror began to glow and his attack and defense points increased. (4200/3800) "Now, Sorceror of Black Magic, attack her White Magician Pikeru!" Kokuro called out. "Scepter Blast Attack!" The Sorceror released a stream of fire from its orb that went through the wall and smashed into Pikeru destroying her. Setsuna covered herself as her Life Points fell. (1900)

"Congratulations!" Setsuna said. "That was exactly 3000 points, you won the LPC!"

"I could have won the whole duel but I didn't want to overdue it," he flipped over his Diffusion-Wave Motion card from his hand. "I thought it might have been a bit much."

"Well thank you for your concern," Setsuna said smiling. "I guess you have won the special card for the day." Setsuna walked behind the counter and took off her Duel Disk. She bent down and opened up a secret drawer at the very bottom of the counter. She took out an envelope and then closed the drawer again. Standing up she handed the envelope over to Kokuro, "I made sure that the card for the day is well hidden. But I guess you know where I keep it now."

"We won't tell anyone," Kokuro said. "We promise."

"You bet!" Mia agreed.

"Your secret is safe with us," Sonomi reassured her.

Kokuro opened the envelope and a card fell out of it into his hand. He turned the card around and smiled when he saw it. "I like the prize," he said to Setsuna looking down at a brand new Breaker the Magical Warrior.

"It's kind of the reason why I wanted you to duel today. If you won I knew it would really help out your deck."

"You bet," Kokuro said as he slid out his deck. He skimmed through it until he came to an Archfiend Soldier. He took it out of the pile and slipped Breaker into the pile. "One Archfiend down and one more to go," he said as he shuffled his deck and placed it into his deck box. "Thank you very much Setsuna."

"You are very welcome," she said smiling. "And I hope that you can find out about the student who has such a big interest in you."

"Thanks," he said. "Well, we better be heading off," he turned to his two friends, "unless you wanted to stay here for a while."

"I can't really think of anything else we have to do today," Mia admitted.

Just then two men in suites came walking into the card shop. They were holding some heavy looking boxes and placed them down onto the ground. They walked over to Setsuna and one of them began speaking with her, "Greetings Ms. Setsuna, we are sorry we are so late but we had some vehicle problems which as you can guess caused us to be unfashionably late. However we are now ready to start organizing the card shop for the deck display."

"Oh wonderful!" Setsuna exclaimed. "We'll probably have to move some of the racks as well as set up the display case."

"What's going on?" Sonomi asked.

"I'm surprised you haven't heard," Setsuna said a little shocked. "Jonouchi Katsuya's deck is going to be on display tomorrow and the Card Shop is hosting the event."

"Oh that," Kokuro said. "We saw it on the academies home page but we didn't realize it would be held here. Do you guys need help setting up?"

"Would you?" Setsuna asked happily. "That would be such a great help."

"It's no problem," Sonomi reassured her. Mia nodded and Kokuro gave a smile.

The rest of the day was devoted to helping out Setsuna get things ready for the Deck Display the next day. Sonomi and Mia moved a lot of the booster pack racks while Kokuro helped bring in the rest of the boxes with the other two men. Some of the boxes contained pieces for a small but sturdy table that could be built within 15 minutes. The table served as the layout place for the deck. One box in particular took all three of the guys to move in at once. It contained a three-inch, bulletproof glass cover, which would attach to the table to make sure the deck was not harmed. Other boxes contained posters and the sort.

While the two men in suites put the table together Kokuro, Sonomi, Mia, and Setsuna got to work hanging posters all around the Card Shop. Most had pictures of just Jonouchi in poses but some also had pictures of his monsters on them. Some even had pictures of Jonouchi on one side and his monsters behind him with the Battle City Duel Disk on his arm. Once the men were done with building the table everyone got together to carefully lift the glass cover onto the top. When everything was finished they all looked around the shop and admired it.

"Not bad," Sonomi said smirking at everything.

"What do you mean 'not bad?'" Setsuna asked. "It's fantastic!"

The two men looked over at Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia, and thanked them. "You three really saved our butts today. We would have never been able to get this done by ourselves in time for the exhibit tomorrow since we were running so late."

"It's no problem," Kokuro said. "I just can't wait to get the tickets for this thing. Where do we get them anyway?"

"You can buy them in the cafeteria's or in the academy's main office," Setsuna said. "Or…you could have."

"What do you mean, could have?" Sonomi asked.

"Well," Setsuna said nervously. "They stopped selling tickets at 6:00," she explained.

"Oh no!" Mia cried out. "It's 7:30! We won't be able to see it!"

"You can buy some at the door but the prices will be raised since they are last minute tickets and are in such short supply while in such great demand," Setsuna said still feeling a little guilty at keeping them from getting their tickets.

"Didn't you guys hear us just a moment ago?" the second man asked.

"We told you that without your help we would have been sunk," the first one continued. "Not only are we assigned to setting up this event but we are also responsible for checking to make sure that nobody enters without a ticket."

"In other words," the second one finished, "We have the power to let you in."

"Would you really!" Mia exclaimed.

"Of course," the first one said. "But you all should probably head back to your dorm rooms. The only thing left to do is to actually lay out the deck on the table and only Ms. Setsuna can be in the room with us when we do that. It's not that we don't trust you, but the card shop must be locked up while we are doing that and we can't have you all stuck inside."

"We understand," they said.

"Alright, we'll see you kids tomorrow."

"Bye!" they said waving as they walked out of the Card Shop. "Wow, I can't believe how lucky we got," Mia said.

"Yeah, don't even have to pay for the tickets or anything," Sonomi agreed.

"I have a feeling something really good is going to happen tomorrow," Kokuro said smiling as they all headed back towards their dorm room for the night.


	22. The Deck Display

Sdrive: I don't own it, don't sue me. But what I do own is my website! Yes, I got it up. Go check it out if you haven't already. From now on that is where info about updates and things are going to be. If you go to my bio, and click on "homepage" it will take you right too it! Hope you like it.

* * *

Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia had gotten back to their room from helping Setsuna set up and were now hanging out talking about what their expectations of the next day were. "I think he's going to be sitting next to his deck signing autographs," Mia said excitedly.

"I wonder if he would tell us about his previous duels in all the tournaments he had been in," Kokuro thought out loud.

"What I really want is for expert dueling advice," Sonomi said. "This is the first time the deck holder has ever traveled with their deck. It is the perfect opportunity for the students to gain really good advice from a pro."

Suddenly they heard a knock on their door, curious Kokuro got up to go look through the peephole. He was a little surprised when he saw Yaku, Jordan and Kahou on the other side. He opened the door and Sonomi and Mia were also surprised when they saw the other three boys. "What are you guys doing here?" Kokuro asked.

"We stopped by to ask if you all wanted to head over to the Deck Display with us tomorrow," Yaku said. "Well, Kahou and I wanted too, we had to force Jordan to come since he still has that shyness problem."

"I'm getting better at it!" Jordan protested.

Mia smirked a little and stood up and walked over to Jordan, "Have you really gotten better at it?" she asked innocently.

"Umm…well….." was all Jordan could manage.

Mia gave a small smile, "Well, this is more than he said last time, I guess he really has gotten better at talking to girls." Everyone began laughing and even Jordan gave a small, nervous chuckle.

"I think it would be great going with you guys," Kokuro said, "What do you guys think?" he asked the other two.

"Fine with me," Mia said still smiling as she gave her peace sign.

"I don't see why not," Sonomi agreed.

"I guess we'll all meet there then," Yaku said. Unexpectedly his PDA started going off. He took it out of his pocket and hit the 'view' button. A picture of Kazuki appeared on it.

"Yaku, I need to speak with you. Please meet me in my dorm room ASAP." The screen went blank leaving everyone to just sort of stare at the PDA.

"What was all that about?" Jordan asked.

"I'm not sure," Yaku said a little unsure of himself. "I think I better get going," he said as he put his PDA in his pocket and headed out the door. "See you all tomorrow," he called back as he ran out.

"Bye," Mia waved smiling.

"I…I think I better get going too," Jordan said uncomfortably. "It was nice seeing you all again," he said quickly as he ran out the door.

Kahou watched Jordan run out and sighed, "poor kid is a nervous wreck when it comes to girls."

"How about you?" Mia asked nudging him in the chest with her elbow.

"Well…" Kahou said blushing a little. "With most girls I'm fine…but there is one I'm having a little trouble talking too."

"Could this be the girl you stayed in Osiris Red for?" Kokuro teased.

Kahou's face began to blush brighter and all he could do was nod meekly. "I haven't really talked to her much, but when I do talk to her, we just have such great conversations. I know it's stupid to like someone when you don't really know him or her that well, but I do. I just can't explain it." Suddenly he looked around the room a little startled. "Did you guys just hear that?" he asked.

"Hear what?" Sonomi asked.

"I didn't hear anything," Mia said trying to listen closely to see if she could hear what Kahou had heard.

"What did it sound like?" Kokuro asked.

Kahou shook his head, "I must be delusional. I've only heard it once before but no one else could hear it." Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia's eyes all widened slightly. "I just figured I was hearing things."

The three looked at each other, then down at their decks, and then back at each other. They all had the same thought on their mind, Kuriboh. "Just out of curiosity," Kokuro began. He picked up his Duel Disk, slid it onto his arm and activated it causing it to fold out. He went through his deck and then took Kuriboh out and placed it onto the middle Monster Zone. Kuriboh appeared in the room and let out a small cry. "Did it happen to sound anything like that?"

Kahou thought about it for a few seconds and then shook his head, "No, it didn't sound like a Kuriboh. Why would you think that?"

The three looked at each other again before Kokuro took Kuriboh off his disk and turned it off. "I don't know," he said. "Like I said earlier, I was just curious."

"It was kind of late when I last heard it," Kahou admitted, "Like it is now, I think I'm just tired. I guess I'll be going now."

"Good night," Mia said.

"Wait, you never told us her name," Kokuro said.

"Oh….well, it's…" just then his PDA went off. He pulled it out and looked at it. "Uh oh, Jukata-Sensei says if I don't get back to Osiris Red now I'll be in big trouble, see ya guys," and with that he took off.

Kokuro watched him leave a little annoyed but then lightened up, "I can ask him tomorrow," he said. "I don't know about you two, but I'm ready to go to bed so that tomorrow will come faster."

"Same here!" Mia said. "Besides, I'm tired from all the work we did today."

"I'm going to stay up and study a little before I go to bed," Sonomi said.

"Don't stay up too late," Mia warned, "You won't want to wake up for the Deck Display tomorrow."

"You know that's not true," Sonomi said slightly annoyed.

"I know, but still, you shouldn't stay up too late."

Sonomi gave in, "Alright, I won't."

Mia smiled and gave off her peace sign, "G'night Sonomi."

"Good night Mia," she said sitting down as she pulled out a notebook and began looking over it. Mia and Kokuro then took turns using the bathrooms to change into their pajamas.

"Good night, Mia," Kokuro said to her once they were done.

"G'night Kokuro," she said giving him a small hug before she crawled into her bed.

"Good night Sonomi," he said to her climbing up the ladder.

"Night," she said semi absentmindedly. Kokuro looked down at her once more before he crawled into his bunk and pulled the covers over his shoulder.

* * *

Yaku had just arrived at Kazuki's dorm room and knocked on the door. Kazuki opened it up for him and Yaku stepped inside. He took the moment to admire Kazuki's large room. It had a King Size bed, a flat screen TV, a brand new computer, also with a flat screen. It had it's own small kitchen equipped with microwave, and mini-fridge. The whole room made Yaku's room be put to shame, and Yaku's room was pretty nice to begin with.

"Where were you?" Kazuki asked him. "I thought you would have been here within seconds."

"I was over at the Ra Dorm talking with Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia," Yaku explained.

Kazuki gave off a small smile before continuing, "Would you like a drink?" he asked heading over to the small mini-fridge and opening it up pulling out a bottle of water for himself.

"Do you have any soda in there?" Yaku asked.

"Only for you," he sighed pulling out a can of orange soda and handed it to Yaku before closing the mini-fridge.

"You spoil me," Yaku teased knowing it bothered Kazuki having soda in his fridge. "So what's the big commotion for?"

"It's your sister," he said slowly. "I got an e-mail from her 15 minutes ago and thought you should see it." He walked over to his computer, signed onto the Duelist Academy Network, and entered his Mail Box. He clicked on his old mail and clicked an e-mail from HarpieGirl26

_Hey you,_

_Hope you are doing well. I saw you after the Nature Hike ended but you looked busy so I didn't bother you. Things have been busy here but you know me, I'm always staying ahead of the game. Just wanted to check in and say hey, can't wait to see you at Parent's Night. Keep in touch._

_Love ya,_

_Elda!_

"Yeah so?" Yaku asked. "There is nothing all that interesting here."

"True, but she mentioned Parent's Night, and that caused me to think of something. I don't know why I thought of it, but I did, and now I'm glad I did."

"Could you be any vaguer?"

"For some reason I began thinking of the beginning of the year. Back when I sat next to Sonomi, and when Kokuro sat next to her. If I remember correctly you mentioned that Kokuro received his first message from the mysterious Ami person on the very first day correct?"

"Yeah, I did. I still don't know how she did it," he said thinking about it.

"I think I do," Kazuki said crossing his arms.

* * *

A few miles away a helicopter was flying in the direction of Duelist Academy. The helicopter only held two passengers, the rest were the pilot and co-pilot. One of the passengers turned to the other and began speaking, "Are you sure you don't want to come down with me. We're best buds!"

The other passenger let out a small chuckle, "No Jonouchi," he said, his purple eyes turning to his friend. "This is your day. I don't want to take away the spotlight."

"Honestly Yug, it's no problem whatsoever. If you want to talk to the kids at the academy go right ahead."

"Thank you but I'm afraid I'll have to sit this one out. Besides, I have to talk to Kaiba. It has been many years since the Sennen Items were sealed away, and I promised the Pharaoh I would make sure Kaiba did the best job he could."

"It's so hard to believe you and the Pharaoh turned out to be so much alike."

Yugi gave a small laugh, "It's so hard to believe that you and Kaiba can sit in the same room and have a decent conversation too."

"Yeah," Jonouchi said laughing a little as the Helicopter continued its way towards Duelist Academy.

* * *

The next morning Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia all woke up early to get ready for the big deck display. Kokuro thumbed through his deck looking over all of his cards while he waited for Mia to get out of the bathroom so that he could get changed. His hand stopped when he saw Breaker The Magical Warrior. He smiled for a moment, "I forgot I won you yesterday," he said to the card. He then continued to flip through them but stopped when he saw the next two cards after Breaker, Kuriboh and Hane Kuriboh. He pulled them out and began to look at them.

Sonomi was walking past him but stopped when she saw him holding the two cards. "You're holding Kuriboh and Hane Kuriboh aren't you?" She asked.

Kokuro nodded, "Yeah, I don't understand exactly what's happening, and why we can only seem to hear them, but I'm glad we can."

Sonomi gave him a small smile and nodded, "Yeah."

Just then Mia came out of the bathroom fully clothed, "It's all yours Kokuro."

"Thanks Mia," he said standing up and taking a uniform from the closet. He checked it once and then smiled slightly before heading into the bathroom.

"He does that every morning," Mia said chuckling.

"Personally I thought he looked good in it," Sonomi said causing them both to erupt into a series of laughter.

Five minutes later Kokuro came out completely dressed. He went over to his bed and took his Deck Box putting it on his belt. "I'm ready," he said. They began to head off when Kokuro suddenly stopped. He looked over at his Duel Disk sitting on the counter.

"What's wrong?" Sonomi asked.

"It just doesn't seem right to go with my Deck Box and not my Duel Disk," he said taking his Duel Disk and sliding it onto his arm. "Much better," he said smiling. Sonomi and Mia gave each other a small look before looking back at him. "It's just, this Duel Disk has been used in all my duels. I don't feel like carrying my backpack around with me today so I figure I might as well wear it on my arm, just how a Duel Disk is supposed to be carried around."

"I could live with you all year and probably never fully understand you," Sonomi said.

Kokuro chuckled, "I guess I'm just a complicated guy," he said. They all laughed a little before leaving the room. They headed down towards the Card Shop and could already see that it was well filled with people. They looked around but couldn't see Yaku, Kahou or Jordan anywhere.

"Do you think they already went inside?" Mia wondered.

"Maybe," Kokuro said.

"We told them we would meet them outside the Card Shop," Sonomi pointed out.

"Maybe they aren't here yet," Mia said.

They waited for another 5 minutes before Sonomi began to get annoyed. "Let's just go in already," she said. They all agreed when suddenly they heard a voice calling down to them.

"Sorry we are late!" Kahou said waving at them as him, Yaku, and Jordan ran over to them gasping for breath. "Someone didn't want to wake up this morning," he said glaring at Yaku.

"Sheesh, sorry, I told you I was up late last night," Yaku said defending himself.

"Let's just go in," Sonomi said.

They headed over to the door and saw the two guys they had helped set up with. "Hey kids, did you all sleep well last night?"

"I know I sure did!" Mia exclaimed giving off her peace sign.

"Well that's good," he said. "You guys are fine, go on in." They started to head in when he stopped Kokuro, "Hey, I'm sorry to do this, but we can't let you bring your Duel Disk in there. It's a policy that we can't break even for you guys."

Kokuro looked down at his Duel Disk and gave a small sigh, "I understand," he said taking it off and handing it to them. "I'll pick it up after the exhibit."

"No problem," the guard said allowing them inside. They checked Yaku, Jordan, and Kahou's tickets and then let them in as well.

Once they were all inside they were amazed at the mob of students that were all hovering around the Deck Display, and more importantly, around Jonouchi Katsuya, who seemed to be having a lot of fun with all the kids constantly asking him for autographs. They started to head over when Mia saw out of the corner of her eye Setsuna get knocked down by one of the other students. "Setsuna!" she called out running over to help her. Kokuro and Sonomi noticed Setsuna as well and ran over to help as well.

Before they got to her another hand reached out and helped her up. The three stopped and looked at who had helped her. He was a Ra Yellow with spiky brown hair that seemed to go all over the place but was at the same time almost controlled. He had green eyes and seemed to be the same height as Kokuro, if you didn't count his hair as part of his height. Probably the most recognizable thing about him, other than his hair, was the red headband around his forehead. In the center of the headband was a picture of a Kuriboh. "Are you all right Setsuna?" he asked her.

Setsuna nodded, and got her balance back, "Yes, thank you Fuuten."

"Fuuten!" Mia cried out happily.

The boy looked over and when he saw Mia he got a big smile on his face, "Mia!" he said waving. "It's been forever since we last saw each other."

"You know each other?" Sonomi asked her.

Mia nodded, "Yeah, Fuuten was in a lot of my classes last year. He was the guy I did my Effect Project with.

Sonomi nodded, "Yes, I remember him now. You guys did some of your project in our room. Granted I was only in the room for a few minutes before I left and let you two work alone so it's not surprising I forgot about him."

"So how are you doing Fuuten?" Mia asked him.

"I'm doing well. How about you?"

"I'm doing great. I got a boyfriend over the summer break."

"I'm happy for you," he said smiling. "You were so nice, it's not surprising."

"Thank you," Mia said smiling. "So, you are here for the Deck Display too huh?"

"Actually I came down to help Setsuna here," he said. "I knew she would have a lot on her hands so I stopped on by to see if there was anything I could help her with."

"How sweet," Mia said.

"And he came just in time, I could really use the help. I'm swamped!"

"Is there anything we can do to help you?" Yaku asked.

Setsuna thought for a moment, "Yeah, never let me agree to do this again." They all began laughing and when they were done she told them that since she had Fuuten to help them they should go enjoy themselves. They all agreed, and headed off after Mia said goodbye to Fuuten.

They got a couple of posters for Jonouchi to sign before they got in line to meet Jonouchi. They had to wait about a half an hour before they finally got to him. "Greetings guys!" he said still full of energy. "And how are you guys doing?"

"Fine Mr. Katsuya Sir," Jordan said handing him a poster. Jonouchi smiled and signed the poster before handing it back to Jordan. "Thank you," Jordan said.

Yaku walked up next and gave Jonouchi a high five, "How's it going Jonouchi?"

"Yaku Narabi, it's been a few years since I last saw you, how's it going?"

Mia ran up in front of Sonomi, "You know Jonouchi!" she said excitedly.

"Yeah," he said. "He stopped by I2 when I was visiting Elda and she introduced me to him."

"That is so cool!" Mia said still excited.

"And who are you?" Jonouchi asked.

"I'm Mia Notosa," She said.

"Hey, wait a minute. You are one of the people who helped set up this exhibit aren't you?"

"Yes, but how did you know that?" she asked.

"The guards told me. They said you really saved their butts."

"I guess we did," Mia said happily.

"Where are the other two who helped out?" he asked.

"Right here," Sonomi said. "I'm Sonomi Hinote," she said shaking his hand.

"And I'm Kokuro Samé," Kokuro said also shaking his hand.

"You guys were a big help, and I'm not one to let help like that go un-rewarded. Is there anything I can do for any of you?"

"Is there anyway you could share your experiences from the tournaments you've been in?" Sonomi asked hopefully.

"I can do more than that," he said smiling. "I could give a demonstration right here."

"A demonstration, how?" Mia asked.

"Well, I'll need a helper," he admitted. "How about you Miss Hinote?"

"Thanks but I would rather observe," she said.

"I'll do it," Kokuro said stepping forward.

"Alright," Jonouchi said.

"So, what is it I need to do?" Kokuro asked.

"You'll see," he said flashing a wild smile. He called over the guards and they came over. "I need you to unlock my deck please."

"What!" they exclaimed. "Mr. Katsuya, in all respect you know we can't do that."

"And why not?" Jonouchi asked.

"Well, it's against proper protocol," one of them said. "If anyone found out we could lose our jobs."

"It's just you here right?" he asked.

"Well, yeah," the guard said.

"So then, no one will find out," Jonouchi said smiling. They looked nervous for a moment but Jonouchi reassured them, "If you both get in trouble I'll take full responsibility."

They looked at each other and nodded. The second guard took the key and unlocked the hatch on the glass. Jonouchi then reached in and started taking his deck out. Kokuro got a little nervous, "Are you planning on dueling me?" he asked.

"Well, Sonomi said she wanted a demonstration. Just be warned, even though you are a only a student, I won't go easy on you." Kokuro began to smile, "You sure look happy to duel me," Jonouchi said.

"I'm up for the challenge," he said.

Jonouchi smiled and then turned to Setsuna, "May I borrow your Duel Disk?"

"Sure," she said handing him her Duel Disk.

He put the Duel Disk on, shuffled his deck and inserted it into the disk causing it to fold out. "You ready Kokuro?"

"All I need is my Duel Disk," Kokuro said as the guard that took it from him earlier handed it back to him. Kokuro smiled sliding it back on, and then taking out his deck he shuffled it and slid it into the disk making it fold out. "_Now _I'm ready."

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Jordan asked. "This is Jonouchi Katsuya, one of the best duelists ever."

"Jordan is right," Kahou said. "You know me, I love to study other people's decks. Although Jonouchi does rely on luck a lot, he also has very powerful cards, this won't be easy."

"You were there when I took on Professor Hikari," Kokuro said. "I used my fair share of luck as well."

"You seem pretty confident," Jonouchi said. "Good luck to you."

"Good luck to you too," Kokuro said smiling as they each drew their opening hands. "It's your demonstration Jonouchi, you go first."

"Very well," Jonouchi said "But first, there is a little ritual I need you to help me with."

"Ritual?" Kokuro asked.

"Yup, something I gotta do right before each and every duel."

Kokuro's eyes gleamed, "I know what you want," he said. "On three?"

They both cried out, "Three! Let's duel!"

Drawing his 6th card Jounouchi said, "By the way, you can just call me Jou if you want."

"Alright thank you Jou," Kokuro said.

"Well, to begin I'll summon Rocket Warrior!" Jonouchi called out as suddenly a small warrior with a small shield and sword appeared on the field with parts that looked like they belonged to a rocket. (1500/1300) "I'll also set three cards under the table and end my turn," he announced as three cards appeared behind Rocket Warrior.

Kokuro drew his 6th card, "To begin I'll summon Skilled Black Magician," he said as his black robed magician appeared on the field with it's long silver staff. (1900/1700)

"A magician?" Jonouchi asked.

"Yup, my favorite kind of card," he smiled. "Now, Skilled Black Magician, wipe out his Rocket Warrior!" Skilled Black Magician's staff began to glow and it charged towards Rocket Warrior.

"Is he crazy?" One kid asked.

"I know, Jonouchi has three cards face down, he doesn't stand a chance," another said.

"Since you declared an attack I'll activate my Quick Play Graceful Dice," Jonouchi called out. "I'll also chain it to my other down card, Skull Dice." Suddenly a chibi angle and demon appeared on the field. The angel held a blue die while the demon held a red die. "Graceful Dice will raise my monsters attack power by the number rolled on the die times 100 while Skull Dice will decrease _your _monsters attack power by the number rolled on the die times 100."

The demon threw its red die, which bounced on the ground before coming to a stop on a 2. Skilled Black Magician's attack power lowered to 1700. The angel then threw its blue die, which bounced on the ground before coming to a stop on a 1. Rocket Warrior's attack rose to 1600.

"Looks like my luck was better," Kokuro said.

"Not quite yet," Jonouchi said. "Now that we are in the damage step I'll activate another card, Fairy Box!" he announced as suddenly a whack-a-mole box appeared on the field. "I get to flip a coin, if I call it right your monster's attack power is reduced to zero," Jonouchi said.

Kokuro let out a small growl, "Fine."

A coin appeared on the field and then began to flip. "Tails!" Jonouchi called out. The coin landed on the ground and revealed it to be a tails. The Skilled Black Magician continued its attack. It fired a blast of magic, which Rocket Warrior dodged by entering one of the holes in the box. It avoided the blast and then came up from one of the lower levels to strike the magician in the back destroying it.

Kokuro mumbled as his Life Points fell. (6400) "Good job, I didn't expect that kind of fierce retaliation. I myself will set three cards under the table and end my turn," he announced as his three cards appeared on the field in front of him.

Jonouchi drew a card and his Life Points lowered, (7500) "Fairy Box is a continuous trap which costs me 500 Life Points during each of my standby phases. But good thing I don't have to worry too much about it with this baby waiting by my side. I summon Alligators Sword," Jonouchi called out as a green alligator wearing armor and wielding a large sword appeared on the field. (1500/1200) "Now, I'll first send Rocket Warrior to attack!" he called out as Rocket Warrior folded its body up turning into a rocket. It flew itself at Kokuro who smirked.

"Reverse Magic Cylinder!" he called out as his two Cylinders appeared on the field. The Rocket went through one and then came out of the other to smash right into Jonouchi's chest.

"Not bad Kokuro," he complimented as his Life Points fell. (6000) "But I think that was your best trap so Alligator's Sword will attack you now." The Alligator ran forward and brought its sword down on Kokuro who was pushed back a bit as his own Life Points fell. (4900) "I'll set one card under the table and end my turn," Jonouchi said as his card appeared behind Rocket Warrior.

"My turn," Kokuro said drawing. 'That fairy box will be a real pain to get past,' he thought to himself. 'The only good thing is that it takes 500 of his Life Points at the start of each of his turns, but the bad thing is that I don't know if I can last that long.' He looked down at his hand, 'If he manages to summon the Red Eyes Black Dragon, this card won't stand a chance, but hopefully I'll get a few good turns out of it.' "I'm going to set one monster on guard and end my turn," Kokuro said, as the monster appeared on the field horizontal.

"My move," Jonouchi announced as he drew a card. His Life Points lowered due to Fairy Box's side effect. (5500) 'I'll save this for later,' he thought as he placed Panther Warrior in his hand next to Remove Restraints. "I send Rocket Warrior to attack your monster!" he called out as his Rocket Warrior folded up and blasted at the other monster.

Suddenly a fairy in yellow robes holding a large harp appeared on the field playing a small tune. (800/2000) "You have reversed my Spirit of the Harp," Kokuro said. "It doesn't have any kind of effect but what it does have is 2000 points of toughness. I'm sure that must count for something."

The Rocket flew towards the harp, which let out an aura repelling it, causing it to hit Jonouchi in the chest. He shook it off as his Life Points lowered (5000) "You're not bad," he complimented.

"Thanks, you aren't either," Kokuro said laughing.

"I end my turn," Jonouchi said.

"Draw!" Kokuro called out pulling his next card. 'His Rocket Warrior's special ability can only activate during his battle phase, but if I try to attack it then his Fairy Box might get the better of me again. But maybe I can trick him into attacking,' he said glancing quickly at one of his face down cards. "It will be risky, but it may just work. I offer up my Spirit of the Harp in order to summon Black Magician Girl!" he called out as his monster disappeared and his Black Magician Girl appeared with a twirl. (2000/1700) "That will end my turn."

Jonouchi drew his card and looked at it. His Life Points lowered due to Fairy Box's effect. (4500) "I activate Meteor of Destruction. I can't activate this if you have 3000 Life Points or less, but since you don't I can take away 1000 of your Life Points!" A flaming meteor appeared on the field and began to descend towards Kokuro. Just as it was about to hit a rune circle appeared beneath Kokuro's feet and the meteor exploded at the edge of the circle. When the smoke cleared Kokuro was standing there smiling, his Life Points still at 4900.

"I activated my Pikeru's Circle of Enchantment. I will no longer take non battle damage for the rest of the turn."

"Your style of play reminds me of Yugi's, the way you make use of your Magician Cards."

Kokuro was taken slightly aback, "Th…thank you, but I don't think I'm as good as Yugi Mouto."

"I don't know if you could beat Yug, but I sure think it would be an interesting duel. But right now your opponent is me. Now I will send Rocket Warrior to attack your Black Magician Girl! Due to his special ability your Magician Girl is about to lose 500 attack points making them equal. And thanks to its other effect it can't be destroyed in battle during my turn." The Rocket Warrior transformed into a rocket again and flew towards Black Magician Girl.

'I have to time this just right," Kokuro thought. The Rocket Warrior hit Black Magician Girl and Kokuro's eyes slightly widened, 'Now!' "Reverse Trap, Divine Wrath!" he called out.

"Divine Wrath?" Jonouchi asked. "I don't like the sound of that."

"You shouldn't," Kokuro said. "This trap will negate the activation of your Rocket Warrior's effect and in turn destroy it. All I have to do is drop one card from my hand," he explained as he discarded Apprentice Magician, the last card in his hand. A mighty blast of lightning came down that blasted the rocket destroying it as smoke clouded the field. Kokuro smiled as the field began to clear, "I'm sure you've guessed this but because Rocket Warrior's effect was negated my Black Magician Girl stays strong at 2000 attack points."

"I can see that," Jonouchi said. "I switch my Alligator's Sword on guard and end my turn," he explained as his alligator switched to a defensive stance and its card appeared underneath it.

Kokuro drew his card and looked down at it, 'Black Magic Attack,' he thought. "If I had Black Magician on the field this would be perfect. Unfortunately I don't so I'll have to work with the next best thing.' "Black Magician Girl, attack Alligators Sword!" The Magician Girl caused a ball of pink energy to form on her staff, which she swung at the monster.

"My Fairy Box activates again!" Jonouchi said. "I call tails again!" The coin flipped and landed on the ground, spun on its side, then landed on tails.

"Unbelievable!" Mia said.

"Twice!" Sonomi exclaimed.

"That's bad luck for Kokuro," Mia said.

"Good thing Jonouchi's alligator is on guard," Yaku pointed out. "If it were in attack mode Kokuro would lose more than a couple of Life Points."

The alligator began bobbing up and down through the holes and at one point released its sword from its hand. The pink magic blast got reflected from the sword's metal and blasted Kokuro in the chest knocking him back a couple of feet as his Life Points fell. (3700) "I end my turn," Kokuro growled.

Jonouchi drew his card and added it to his hand. His Life Points were decreased due to Fairy Box. (4000) "This has been a pretty good duel," he said to Kokuro. "However, if I want to win I can't keep playing a defense. So I'm going to summon Panther Warrior!" he announced as a purple panther dressed in gold and black armor carrying a large sword appeared on the field. (2000/1600) "My Panther can't attack if it doesn't tribute a monster on my side of the field first, and if I did that and then attacked I would have a clear field, so I'll hold off on that for now."

"Why do you think he did that?" One kid asked.

"He's probably going to use it as a sacrifice," another said.

"Maybe we'll get to see his Red Eyes!" another kid said excited.

"It's your turn Kokuro," Jonouchi said.

Kokuro drew his card and a wide smile appeared on his face, "I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior!" he announced as a spellcaster in red armor wearing a long cape and holding a large shield and a thin sword appeared on the field. (1600/1000)

"That's the card he won from Setsuna!" Mia cheered.

"Way to go!" Sonomi said.

"Breaker comes into play with one spell counter and that spell counter gives him 300 extra attack points," Kokuro explained as an orb began to glow on Breaker's Sword. (1900/1000) "However, if I remove this Spell Counter I am allowed to destroy one spell or trap on the field."

"I know where this is going," Jonouchi said.

"I remove my Spell Counter in order to destroy your Fairy Box!" Kokuro called out. The orb on the sword began to glow brighter and soon the whole sword began to glow. Breaker slashed the sword through the air and the box on Jonouchi's side of the field was blown to pieces. Breaker's attack power then lowered back to it's original strength. (1600/1000) "Now, Breaker, attack Alligator's Sword!" Kokuro called out as Breaker ran towards the alligator. He clashed swords with it knocking out the alligator's sword. He then slashed it across the chest destroying it. "From there I will end my turn," Kokuro announced.

"Not so fast, I chain Sleepy Sheep to your end phase!" Jonouchi announced as 4 colorful sheep appeared on the field. He then proceeded in drawing his card. "With Fairy Box no longer on the field I don't have to pay anymore Life Points at the start of my turn. However I don't think it would have mattered in the long run. I enter my battle phase and use one of my sheep as a tribute so that my Panther can attack your Breaker!" he announced. One of his sheep became a stream of energy that went into the Panther's sword. It charged towards Breaker and slashed him across his chest before he could even raise his own sword. Breaker blew to pieces and Kokuro's Life Points lowered. (3300) "Now, since I have a space open, I can summon this guy, Gearfried the Iron Knight!" he announced as a man in a full suite of iron armor appeared on the field. (1800/1600) "Now I will activate my spell card Remove Restraints! This will free Gearfried from his suit to reveal his true nature! Meet Sword Master, Naked Gearfried!" he announced as a very muscular man with long hair and an enormous sword appeared on the field. (2600/2300) "This will end my turn," Jonouchi said.

"Jonouchi just summoned one of his greatest monsters!" Kahou said amazed. "The only other monster in his that could be considered stronger is Gilford the Lightning. And that's only if Naked Gearfried doesn't gain an equip card."

"Kokuro will be fine," Sonomi said. "I'm sure of it." Just then Kokuro pulled his card and he, Mia, and Sonomi all heard the familiar sound of Kuriboh. "See, that's proof that he will be fine."

"What are you talking about?" Kahou asked. "What is proof that he will be fine?"

Sonomi looked over at Kahou and let out a nervous laugh, "Never mind, forget I said anything."

Kokuro looked down at his Kuriboh and smiled, 'I guess you are here to help me. Jonouchi's tough, but we can be tougher!' "I switch Black Magician Girl on guard and end my turn," he announced as his Black Magician Girl switched positions and her card appeared underneath her.

"It's my turn then," Jonouchi said. "This is perfect, I equip my Naked Gearfried with Fusion Sword Murasame Blade!" he announced. "This will increase Naked Gearfried's attack power by 800 but more importantly it will activate Gearfried's special ability." A long thin sword appeared in Gearfried's hand and it started glowing as his attack power increased. (3400/2300) "Now that Gearfried has been equipped with a spell card he can now destroy any monster on the field, and I chose your Black Magician Girl!" Gearfried slashed his new sword at Black Magician Girl causing her to let out a scream before she was destroyed.

"That kid is done," one kid said.

"Don't bet on it!" Sonomi shouted at them.

"Yeah," Mia agreed, "Kokuro's not out of this yet!"

"He might as well be," Jordan said watching the duel. "Since that was Gearfried's effect Jonouchi can still attack with him, and with only 3300 Life Points Kokuro will lose the duel."

"Naked Gearfried, attack the player!" Gearfried ran towards Kokuro and brought his sword down on him. Before it impacted Kokuro slid Kuriboh into the graveyard and Kuriboh appeared and took the blast.

"My Kuriboh has protected me from your Naked Gearfried's attack," Kokuro said. Suddenly he heard a strong hearty laugh from behind him. He turned around to see Fuuten standing next to Setsuna giving out a great heartful laugh.

"Just like always, a Kuriboh has saved the day," he said.

"I guess that would explain the Kuriboh headband," Kokuro said to himself. "He must be a fan of Kuriboh." Just then a thought occurred to him. "Hey Fuuten, just a moment ago, did you hear Kuriboh give off any kind of cry, before it appeared on the field?"

Fuuten shook his head, "Nope, the only time I heard it was just now. Good old dependable Kuriboh…"

"Ok, thanks," Kokuro said. He turned around only to hear Jonouchi call out.

"Panther Warrior, attack the player!" A second sheep turned into an energy stream and powered up the panther's sword as it charged at Kokuro slashing him across the chest lowering his Life Points significantly. (1300) "That ends my turn."

Kokuro drew his card and played it immediately, "Pot of greed will give me two cards," he said as he drew two new cards. Him, Sonomi and Mia then heard the sound of Hane Kuriboh. Kokuro smiled as he placed it and the other card he had pulled onto the field. "I set one card under the table and one monster on guard ending my turn," he announced as the card appeared in front of him.

"It was a good duel but it has to end now," Jonouchi said as he drew a card.

"Reverse Sleepy Sheep!" Kokuro called out as 4 of his own colorful sheep appeared on the field. "Try getting to my Life Points now Jou," he said.

"If you want me too," Jonouchi said. "I activate Monster Reborn, and I use it to bring back Alligators Sword," he said as his Alligators Sword reappeared on the field. "Now I offer up Alligators Sword, Panther Warrior, _and _Sword Master, Naked Gearfried!" All of his monsters vanished from the field and dark clouds began to form.

"He could only be summoning one monster," Kahou said worried.

Suddenly a very muscular man with a huge sword sheathed on his back appeared on the field. He wore very strong looking white armor and a long flowing red cape. "Meet Gilford the Lightning!" Jonouchi called out. (2800/1400) "And since I offered up 3 monsters to summon him I can now destroy all monsters on your side of the field!" Gilford started to un-sheath his sword as lightning came out of it. He finished un-sheathing it and pointed it at Kokuro's side of the field. The sword pulsed with electricity and released it destroying all of Kokuro's Sleepy Sheep and his face down Hane Kuriboh.

"Because you have destroyed my Hane Kuriboh I won't take any battle damage this turn!" Kokuro announced.

"You won't go out without a fight will you?" Jonouchi said chuckling.

"Not a chance," Kokuro said smiling.

"I guess it's your turn then," Jonouchi sighed.

Kokuro drew his card and looked to see it was Double Spell. He only had two cards in his hand and the only other one was Black Magic Attack. 'How am I supposed to use these two cards?" he wondered. Just then a thought came to him, "I activate Double Spell!" He announced. "This forces me to discard one Spell from my hand so that I can activate one Spell from your graveyard," he said as he discarded Black Magic Attack and Jonouchi's graveyard began to shine. "And I know just the one I want, Monster Reborn!"

The Egyptian Ankh appeared on Kokuro's side of the field and suddenly his Apprentice Magician appeared on the field on guard. "When did that go to your graveyard?" Jonouchi asked.

"When I discarded it to activate Divine Wrath to destroy your Rocket Warrior," Kokuro explained. "And now with her on the field I can end my turn."

Jonouchi drew his card and summoned it, "Tiny Guardian to attack mode!" he called out as a small warrior with a tiny shield and sword appeared on the field wearing blue armor. (1400/1800) "Tiny Guardian, attack his Apprentice Magician!" The warrior jumped forward and slashed the magician across the chest destroying her. "Gilford the Lighting, attack the player!"

"Not so fast!" Kokuro called out smirking. "Once Apprentice Magician is destroyed in battle her ability activates allowing me to summon one level 2 spellcaster or lower from my deck face down on guard. So I choose another Apprentice Magician which will go on guard." He searched his deck for his next Apprentice Magician and set it face down on guard, shuffling his deck afterwards.

"Gilford, attack Apprentice Magician!" Jonouchi called out as Gilford ran forward and slashed the face down monster." Kokuro searched for his last Apprentice Magician and set it face down on guard. "My Tiny Guardian allows me to switch its battle position at the end of my turn so I will switch it on guard and end my turn," he explained as he turned the card on the disk and Tiny Guardian took a defensive stance.

Kokuro drew his card and set it immediately, "One card under the table and that ends my turn."

Jonouchi drew his card and smiled, "I guess it's the end of the duel, though it was a good one."

"It's not over yet," Kokuro smirked.

"Fine, in that case, I switch Tiny Guardian back to attack mode and then Gilford the Lightning, attack his last Apprentice Magician!" Gilford began to run towards the card when black chains surrounded him and bound him. His attack power also began to drop (2100/1800)

"I reversed my Shadow Spell Trap," Kokuro explained.

"Aww man. No matter, Tiny Guardian, attack his last Apprentice Magician!" The small warrior charged forward and brought its sword down on the last Apprentice Magician destroying her.

"I search for my Old Vindictive Magician," Kokuro said as he placed it face down on guard and reshuffled his deck.

Jonouchi looked at a card from his hand, "Next turn the win is mine," he said. "I set one monster on guard and switch Tiny Guardian on guard," he explained as he set the card he was looking at and Tiny Guardian reassumed the defensive stance.

Kokuro drew his card and smiled when he saw it. "I reverse my Old Vindictive Magician, with this card I can destroy one monster on your side of the field, and I choose your Gilford the Lightning!" he announced as his Old Mage released a blast of red magic that slammed into Gilford destroying him. "Now I offer up my Old Mage for Cybernetic Magician!" Kokuro announced as his futuristic Magician appeared on the field wearing his trench coat like robes, and holding his silver staff. (2400/1000)

"That's the card he won from my sister," Yaku said impressed.

"It's awesome!" Kahou said amazed.

"I'll say it is," Jordan agreed.

"Cybernetic Magician, destroy his Tiny Guardian!" Kokuro announced as his magician let loose a silver blast of magic that struck the small warrior destroying it. "That ends my turn," Kokuro said.

"My move," Jonouchi said smiling. "I reverse my face down monster, Fiber Jar!" Most of the students gasped as the jar appeared on the field. It began to suck everything inside and then disappeared. "Fiber Jar resets the game without messing with Life Points and monsters removed from the game. We take everything from our graveyard, field, hand, and deck, shuffle them all together, and redraw five cards."

Kokuro took all the cards he had, shuffled them together, and slid his deck into the Duel Disk. He drew his five cards and the first one he pulled was Kuriboh, which both Mia, and Sonomi heard.

"Kokuro's in trouble," Kahou said. "If Jonouchi pulls a strong enough monster he will win this duel."

"I activate Foolish Burial!" Jonouchi announced. "I move Android Psycho Shocker from my deck to my graveyard. I then activate Monster Reborn to bring back Android Psycho Shocker!" He called out as his large robot appeared on the field sparking with electricity. (2400/1500) "Now, Android Psycho Shocker, attack Kokuro for the win!" The robot began to power up its eye lasers and shot them out at Kokuro.

"Protect me Kuriboh!" Kokuro announced as he slid Kuriboh into the graveyard causing it to appear on the field to take the blast.

"No way!" Jonouchi announced.

"Way to go Kuriboh!" Fuuten called out from next to Setsuna.

"Well, I suppose I'll just set this card face down," Jonouchi said. "Just incase you get past Android Psycho Shocker, besides, better safe than sorry."

"Agreed," Kokuro smiled as he drew his card, "Especially when you have to put up with this! Premature Burial!" Kokuro's Life Points lowered and his Kuriboh reappeared on the field in attack mode. (500) (300/200) "Now I sacrifice Kuriboh for Black Magician Girl!" he announced as Kuriboh disappeared and Black Magician Girl came back onto the field for the second time this duel. (2000/1700) "Next comes a personal favorite combo, Sages Stone!" he announced as his Black Magician Girl took the Sages Stone and raised it above her head causing Black Magician to appear onto the field. (2500/2100) "Next comes the Magicians Power, otherwise known as Mage Power!" he announced as his Black Magician began to glow. "I set one card under the table," he announced depleting his hand causing his Black Magician to gain more attack points. (3500/2100)

"That kid is amazing!" one of the students said.

"Where did he learn to duel like that?" another asked.

"I don't know," Another replied. "Do you think he gives lessons?"

"Black Magician! Attack Psycho Shocker!" he announced as his Black Magician blasted out a wave of magic that destroyed Android Psycho Shocker causing Jonouchi to lose Life Points. (2900) "Black Magician Girl, attack the player!"

"Not so fast," Jonouchi called out. "You've triggered my trap card, Compensation Mediation! This card gets shuffled with two cards from your graveyard and then I have to choose one of them. If I pick my card your attack is blocked, if one of yours is picked, the attack goes through."

"You have a one in three shot of getting it right," Kokuro said sliding all his cards off of his disk and putting them in his pocket. He then took Sages Stone and Premature Burial from his graveyard and walked over to take Jonouchi's Compensation Mediation card. He shuffled all three together as he walked back to his side of the field and placed them on the disk. The cards appeared and Jonouchi made his guess.

"The middle card!" he announced. The card slowly reversed to show that it was actually Sages Stone. "Oh man!" he exclaimed.

"It was about time Kokuro got some good luck," Mia said.

Kokuro took his two cards and placed them on the top of his disk and then walked back over to Jonouchi and gave him back his trap card. He walked back, placed his cards back on his disk and the Black Magician Girl continued her attack slamming a pink energy ball into Jonouchi. He was pushed back as his Life Points lowered more. (900)

"It's your turn Jonouchi," Kokuro said.

Jonouchi drew his card and smiled, "Sorry guy, but its time for me to win. I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight and then play Remove Restraints!"

"Again!" Kahou said amazed. The iron knight reappeared on the field and then the armor broke off bringing out the mighty muscular warrior once again. (2600/2300)

"Sword Master, Naked Gearfried, attack Black Magician Girl for the win!" he called out.

"And it's time to fall into the same trap again," Kokuro said as black chains surrounded Gearfried keeping him in place. (1900/2300)

Jonouchi gasped and then gave off a small smile, "Finish it."

Kokuro drew, "Black Magician Girl, attack Gearfried! Burning Magic Attack!" he announced as his Black Magician Girl winked at Gearfried before blasting him. Jonouchi's Life Points reduced. (800) "Black Magician, Black Magic Attack!" he announced as Black Magician flew forward letting out a wave of black energy that struck Jonouchi pushing him back as his Life Points fell to zero. (0)

Everyone stood there awestruck, even Kokuro seemed a little surprised once it sunk in that he had won. Sonomi and Mia walked over to Kokuro and smiled at him, "Way to go," Mia said softly.

"I'm truly impressed," Sonomi said.

Jonouchi dusted himself off, "Kokuro that was a truly intense duel. You are an excellent duelist, I'm glad that I lost to you."

"It was an honor to duel you Jonouchi," Kokuro said.

"I told ya, call me Jou," he said offering a handshake.

Kokuro walked over smiling and gave him a hand shake and then high fived him. "Fine, it was an honor to duel you Jou."

"Yeah, I know," Jonouchi said laughing.

They all laughed and then Kazuki walked over to Kokuro. "I came in half way through the duel, I must say I'm impressed. I don't think you were lying when you said you would only get better."

"Thank you," Kokuro said.

Jonouchi walked over to the guards and told them to unlock the table again. He took a few minutes putting his deck back in and once it was re-secured behind the glass he gave the Duel Disk back to Setsuna. "Thank you Ms. Setsuna."

"You're quite welcome," she responded smiling.

Jonouchi sat down and gave out a stretch, "I'm exhausted."

"So am I," Kokuro laughed. "That was one of the most intense duels ever. You sure wouldn't quit."

"Neither would you, and that's what I respect the most." He turned to the other students "I'm sure you all learned something from this. "No matter how strong you are, or what your rank is, you can still lose. Don't ever quit, and even the most inexperienced duelists can become strong. Trust me, I used to know absolutely nothing about dueling. But I kept at it and soon became a great duelist. Always try your best kids."

After that they all got the rest of their autographs and hung out until the end of the day. Once all the kids had left the guards began to clean everything up. Sonomi, Kokuro, Mia, Yaku, Jordan, Kahou, Fuuten and Jonouchi all stayed to help out. They were putting everything back where it belonged and cleaned up all the remaining posters and trash that were on the floors and walls. They would share jokes and it was just as if they all knew each other for years. Once they were done Yaku, Kahou, and Jordan headed off.

Before Yaku headed off he spoke with Kokuro, "Kokuro, Kazuki and I think we know how that Ami person got your PDA Address. We are testing to make sure we are right and if we are I'll invite you over to the Obelisk Dorm tomorrow and we'll tell you if what we think happened."

"Alright, thanks," Kokuro said. Yaku then headed off leaving just Fuuten, Setsuna, Jonouchi, Mia, Sonomi and Kokuro in the card shop.

"Thank you again sooooo much for all your help here today," Setsuna said happily. "I'm all done here so if you want to you can leave."

"I actually have a question to ask you," Fuuten said getting a little nervous. Setsuna gave him a curious look and he continued, "I wondered if I could join the Card Shop Crew?"

"Card Shop Crew?" Mia asked. "What's that?"

Setsuna just shrugged, and waited for Fuuten to answer. "I mean I want to help you out in the Card Shop as your assistant. I know you have a hard time in here by yourself so I was hoping I could help you out. You don't even have to pay me."

"Sure, I would love to have you help me," she said happily. "It sure can be tiring hosting all these events."

"Then I'm happy to help," Fuuten said smiling.

Everyone else in the room smiled too and then Kokuro turned to Jonouchi, "Thanks again for letting me duel you, it really was an honor."

"No problem," he said laughing. "It was a great duel."

Sonomi walked over to them, "you wouldn't by any chance be willing to give us any super secret gaming strategies that you didn't tell anyone else would you?" she asked hopefully.

Jonouchi just laughed, "If you want super secret gaming strategies you're looking at the wrong guy." He turned to Kokuro, "I think he's the one you gotta go to."

"Oh, alright," Sonomi said a little bummed.

"However…." Jonouchi began.

"Yes?" Sonomi asked a tad excited.

"I can give you a good life strategy. Now, you all are going to think I'm crazy, but I'm not so listen up." Mia walked over to the group and also began listening. "You three seem to really have a great friendship. But sometimes in order to save your friends, you have to sacrifice yourself."

"What do you mean?" Sonomi asked puzzled.

"Well, back in the first ever Battle City Tournament that was run by the headmaster of this school, Seto Kaiba, there was a contestant there who was a few screws short if you know what I mean. He blamed my friend Yugi for something that happened to his father and in turn let his anger take control of him. He also held a strange magical item called the Sennen Rod, which had the power to take over people's minds, and send people to this evil place called the Shadow Realm."

"I remember hearing about this," Kokuro said. "Suji-Sensei talked to us about them on the Nature Hike. About the mysterious fourth dorm and the students who studied the Sennen Items. You mean you've seen one of them."

"I've seen all of them," Jonouchi replied causing the three to widen their eyes. "But for me the scariest one is the Sennen Rod. The contestant used it to control my mind and fight in a duel where the loser of the duel would die. And he made me face Yugi. I had just activated Meteor of Destruction and Yugi used Mystical Rift Panel. Yugi could have used it to strike me down making me lose, but because he wanted me to be the one who survived, he sacrificed himself and allowed Meteor of Destruction to hit himself. In the end we were both saved but that wasn't the last time someone would have to sacrifice themselves."

"What happened after that?" Mia asked.

"Well, the contestant had to face a really good duelist named Mai Valentine. He took her to the Shadow Realm to duel and near the end of it he tried to finish her off using one of the Egyptian God Cards. Since she was in the Shadow Realm the attack could have really hurt her so I stepped in front of her to protect her since she was chained to a wall due to one of the contestant's cards. Yugi also used to have a Sennen Item so he stepped in front of me and used it to protect me as well as Mai. But in both cases, Yug and I sacrificed ourselves to save our friends. I'm not saying you'll be in any crazy Shadow Game or have your mind controlled where you have to do that, but it's still a good lesson that I feel you guys should hear."

"Sacrifice yourself to save your friends," Sonomi said softly.

"I know it's not quite what you were looking for but…"

"Thank you," she said suddenly. "It's good advice."

He was a little shocked that she liked it, but at the same time pleased, "No problem," he said.

"That's so cool!" Mia said. "Where you ever scared?"

"There were a lot of scary times…like this one time…"

* * *

A few hours later everyone had shared his or her own special stories and it was time for Jonouchi to leave. "It was great meeting you," Mia said.

"Yeah, it was nice meeting you too," he said back.

"Thanks for everything," Sonomi said shaking his hand.

"It was my pleasure," he responded.

"I wish we could duel again some time," Kokuro said.

"If you are ever in Domino…"

"I live in Domino!" Kokuro said excited.

"Nearby Kaiba Corp?" Jonouchi asked.

"No, I live all the way south."

"Well, if you're ever in North Domino, give me a buzz," Jonouchi said shaking his hand.

"I will," Kokuro said. "Thanks again."

"No problem."

Kokuro then left with Mia and Sonomi, "He is such a great guy," Kokuro said.

"Yeah he is," Mia agreed. "So, are you going to come to dinner with us?"

Kokuro shook his head, "I can't, I have to go drop something off at Professor Hikari's room and then I'm going to take a bath."

"Alright, good luck," she said smiling.

"See you back at the room," Sonomi said.

Kokuro nodded and they split up. Kokuro ran to their room first to grab his clothes for the bath and for the essay he had to drop off to Professor Hikari. Once he got everything he needed he headed into the academy and knocked on Professor Hikari's door. Being let in he walked over to Professor Hikari and gave him the essay.

"I know I told you I would give it to you earlier today but I was at the deck exhibit all day," Kokuro explained.

"You will be marked down for turning it in late," Professor Hikari said emotionless.

"I thought as much," Kokuro said walking away. He debated whether or not to tell Professor Hikari about the duel but decided against it. He began his walk towards the bathhouse when he bumped into someone coming around the corner. "Sorry about that," he said looking up at the person. The person was a bit shorter than he was, but his tri colored hair made them look about equal height. Kokuro's eyes widened when he realized he had bumped into, "You're Yugi Mouto!"

Yugi gave a small chuckle, "Yes, I am," he said. His eyes widened a little as he looked down at Kokuro. Curious he asked, "What's your name?"

"My name?" Kokuro asked. "It's Kokuro Samé."

"Tell me Kokuro, do you at times hear strange noises?"

Kokuro was stunned, "Yes! How do you know about that?"

Yugi simply chuckled, "I could just tell. Listen, what you are hearing, it's because you and someone close to you share a Friendship Spirit."

"A Friendship Spirit? What's that?"

"A Friendship Spirit only appears when two or more people share a great friendship with each other. Usually a Friendship Spirit represents a Duel Monster that each person likes very much."

"The Kuriboh's," Kokuro gasped.

"Is that your Friendship Spirit?" Yugi asked chuckling. "Kuriboh is a monster that will selflessly sacrifice itself to help its friends. It is fitting that it would be your Friendship Spirit. However, Friendship Spirits and Duel Spirits are two different things."

"What is a Duel Spirit?" Kokuro asked.

"A Duel Spirit is a Duel Monster that can only be seen by people who are especially gifted. These people have almost a 6th sense to these kinds of things. But there is one major difference between a Duel Spirit and a Friendship Spirit. A Duel Spirit can be seen by anyone who has that 6th sense. But a Friendship Spirit can only be seen by the people it share's the friendship with."

"Wow, that's amazing," Kokuro said.

"It is. Not even the powerful Pharaoh from 3000 years ago could see a Friendship Spirit if he wasn't a part of that friendship."

"How do you all know all this?" Kokuro asked amazed.

"I have my own sort of 6th sense to these kinds of things," Yugi said. "I can't see your Friendship Spirit, but I can see your great power."

"Great power?" Kokuro asked.

Yugi nodded, "anyone with a good heart and who would do anything for their friends has great power. It show's in their aura."

"Well thank you very much," Kokuro said excitedly. "Is it alright to tell my friends?"

"Of course. It is your friendship after all."

"Thank you so much for helping me figure this whole thing out."

"You are welcome. I must be going, I hope that we will meet again."

"One more thing," Kokuro called back.

"Yes?"

"Did you come here with Jonouchi?"

"Yes. But my reasons were different, I had to speak to an old friend."

"Oh. Well it was great meeting you Mr. Mouto."

"You can just call me Yugi, and it was nice to meet you too," he said walking off down the hall.

"A Friendship Spirit huh?" he thought to himself. He thought of Sonomi and Mia and heard the sound of Kuriboh and Hane Kuriboh beside him. He smiled and continued to walk towards the bathhouse; "I sure can't wait to tell them about this."

* * *

Later on that night Kokuro had gotten done explaining to them what Yugi had told him. "So, you mean we all share some kind of special Friendship symbol in the form of Kuriboh?" Mia asked excitedly.

"Yup," Kokuro said smiling.

"That is so cool!" she screamed out.

"Hey," Sonomi began. "Remember when Kahou was in here last night. He was talking about that girl he liked and then he asked us if we heard anything but there was nothing there. Do you think he share's some kind of special Friendship Spirit with that girl he likes?"

"Probably," Kokuro said. "Yugi did say that only those who share that special friendship could hear the Friendship Spirit." Mia began chuckling causing Sonomi and Kokuro to look at her funny. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"It's just that I'm thinking about how we share a Cinnamon Spirit," she said. The other two looked at each other and soon they were all laughing.

* * *

In Kazuki's room Yaku and Kazuki were testing something on the computer. "If we are right about this then we should know in a moment," Kazuki said. He typed a little bit more and then a screen with a list appeared. "We've got you," he said smirking. 


	23. Card Trade Day! Part One

Sdrive: I swear I don't own it. You have no legal rights to sue me.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. But I've got 10 written and it'll be constant updating for at least two and a half months.

* * *

Kokuro was in his bed sleeping soundly when he heard some kind of alarm go off. Startled he woke up and looked around to find the source. Below him Mia was getting very excited, "I can't believe it!" she said. "It's finally here!" 

"What's here? What's going on?" Kokuro asked.

"It's an Academy Holiday," Sonomi said jumping down from her top bunk scaring the hell out of Kokuro and Mia.

"Don't do that!" Mia yelled at her.

"I second that demand," Kokuro said catching his breath. He then looked back down, "What do you mean, Academy Holiday?" he asked.

"Duelist Academy has special holidays implanted throughout the school year," Sonomi explained. "During an Academy Holiday there are no classes, no extra curricular activities or anything really school related."

"And it just so happens that we are about to begin the best one!" Mia said excitedly.

"And which one is that?" Kokuro asked.

"Card Trade Day!" she exclaimed.

"Card Trade Day?" Kokuro asked completely confused. "What? People just trade cards all day?"

"That's right!" Mia exclaimed.

"But more importantly…" Sonomi began before she was cut off by an intercom announcement that sounded throughout the entire island.

_"Good morning students! This is the first official Academy Holiday. The deck display yesterday was just a warm up. Today is Card Trade Day. For students who are unfamiliar with Card Trade Day here is a brief overview of how it will work. All students are allowed to go to any of the three dormitories today to trade with other students. The only dormitory off limits is the Obelisk Blue Female Dormitory. All students wishing to trade with an Obelisk Blue Female must trade either in the Obelisk Blue Male Dormitory or elsewhere on the Academy grounds. Make sure to make some wise trades because the "Duelist Academy Tournament Project" begins tomorrow!"_

The announcement finished up and Kokuro looked down at Mia and Sonomi, "Duelist Academy Tournament Project?" he asked.

"Yeah," Sonomi said. "Just what I was about to mention, "The Project," as most just call it, is a tournament that the academy holds that any student can enter. And right before it there is always a Card Trade Day so that students have the best chance to get new cards to strengthen their decks.

It was at that moment that Kokuro had noticed a large commotion outside of their room. He got out of his bed and walked over to the door looking through the peephole to see numerous Ra Yellow students, and even a few Osiris Red outside of their door. "Ummm…..guys…." he said nervously. "We have company."

"Rabid fans?" Sonomi asked.

"Yup," Kokuro said nodding a little. "How do you suppose we get out of this one? They're everywhere."

"I know!" Mia said as she grabbed her Duel Disk and turned it on. "Quickly get dressed, and then on the count of three…" she said.

Outside their room there was a mob of students trying to convince Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia to come out of the room. Suddenly the door slammed open and an Armed Dragon Lv7 attacked all the students. The vibrations caused the students to fall down as Kokuro and Sonomi, both adorned with backpacks and their usual outfits, took off to the right of the hallway and Mia took off to the left. The dragon disappeared and one of the students yelled, "They are splitting up!"

On their way out of the dormitory Sonomi and Kokuro had 'accidentally' knocked into some of the students trying to block their path in turn creating an exit for them. Once they were outside of the dorm they found a quick place to hide before catching their breaths. "So, they just automatically assume that since we are such good duelists that we have such good cards right?" Kokuro asked.

"Yeah," Sonomi nodded catching her breath.

"They don't ever think we just put all our best cards into our decks and don't have anything else others might want."

"Wait…you don't have anything worth trading?" Sonomi asked.

"Of course I have things worth trading," he said. "I'm just saying they instantly assume that."

Sonomi let out a small grunt of annoyance and then stood up fully, "They'll find us sooner or later, might as well make sure we are all split up."

"I guess so," Kokuro agreed.

Sonomi started to head of, "Good luck out there,"

"Thanks, you too," he said as she continued off. Just as Kokuro was about to head off he heard his PDA let out a small beep signaling he had a new message. He took it out of his pocket and clicked 'view.' An image of Yaku appeared.

"Kokuro, our hunch was right, please meet me in Kazuki's room ASAP."

The message ended and Kokuro looked a little confused. "Well alright," he said as he put his PDA away. He checked to make sure no one was really looking his way and then took off at a jog towards the Obelisk Blue dormitory. He found his way up with no problems due to the lack of people on the way. He found his way up to the dormitory and instantly found that the Obelisk that shoved him earlier was standing at the door.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Ra," he said in a smug tone.

"Please move aside I have business in there," Kokuro said a little annoyed.

"I know about your business," the kid said. "They told me to wait out here and escort you to Kazuki's room so that no one would try to stop you. Though don't think I'm happy with this job."

"Never said you had to be happy with it," Kokuro shrugged as they entered the dorm. They walked in silence for a couple of minutes before Kokuro asked, "What is your name?"

"Not that it's any of your business but it's Satoshi, why do you even care?"

"Just curious," Kokuro said as they walked along.

A couple of Obelisk's passed by who stopped them and asked Kokuro if he would trade with them. Satoshi firmly pushed them out of the way and forced Kokuro to continue walking. Once they had gotten to Kazuki's room Satoshi looked at Kokuro, "There you go. I safely escorted you to your destination. Now hurry up and get out of our dorm."

Kokuro turned to knock on the door and secretly rolled his eyes saying thank you. Yaku opened the door and invited Kokuro inside. He thanked Satoshi who walked off without acknowledging him. "Nice kid," Yaku said sarcastically.

"I'm sure all the ladies love him," Kokuro dryly said. Yaku laughed and Kazuki walked over to the two.

"He may not be the nicest person in this dorm but he was the only one who we knew could get you here quickly enough without too many distractions. Have a seat." Kokuro sat down on the chair that Kazuki had indicated to him.

"Thank you," Kokuro said as he looked up at them. "So, I guess you both figured out how this Ami girl tracked me down."

Kazuki gave a small grin, "yes, and I must say, I'm impressed. It almost never occurred to me how she tracked you down. But once I realized it as a possibility, I almost felt stupid not realizing it in the first place."

"Enough with the suspense already!" Kokuro said with a mix of anxiousness and excited ness in his voice, "please tell me how she did it."

"Alright, alright," Yaku said. "Chill out dude. We're getting to it."

"Thanks to Elda Narabi I thought of something I wouldn't have normally thought of," Kazuki said. "She mentioned Parents Night, and it made me think of the entrance exams. I started to think about it and I realized that the day of Entrance Exams, the administration enters in all the PDA's issued to the new students so that they can contact them if needed."

"I was pretty impressed with how Kazuki did it," Yaku said retelling the tale of that night.

* * *

_In Kazuki's room Yaku and Kazuki were testing something on the computer. "If we are right about this then we should know in a moment," Kazuki said. He typed a little bit more and then a screen with a list appeared. "We've got you," he said._

_Yaku looked over his shoulder, "These are just links that tell what times PDA's were issued to students on the first day and when they were added to the data base."_

"_Right," Kazuki said. He scrolled down towards the bottom and stopped, "This is the link for the first few people who where admitted into the Academy," he said clicking on the link. A few names appeared with the ID number of the PDA's belonging to the people who hold them. He scrolled down a little and they soon came across a line that said 'Samé, Kokuro' on the left and on the right was the ID number of the PDA he owned._

"_Incredible!" Yaku said._

_Kazuki sat back in his chair, "So the remaining questions are, who is she, why did she track him down, and how did she know how to get past all the security?"_

* * *

"That's pretty impressive," Kokuro said, "but I'm afraid I still don't fully understand it all." 

Kazuki motioned Kokuro over to his computer and he got up and they all went to the computer. Kazuki logged into the computer and typed until he got into the Academy Database. "This is pretty much what happened," he said as he began typing. "The Academy Database keeps a record of everything; duels, rank, PDA numbers, ect. However some of this information is restricted," he said as he typed a bit more and a picture of himself came onto the screen displaying all of his information.

Kokuro looked over his shoulder at the layout of the screen, "This is the setup I found that Osiris looking at when I found my info displayed!" he exclaimed.

Kazuki nodded, "Yes, but this type of information is open to any student here. Notice how it doesn't list a PDA number however."

Kokuro looked down, "you're right."

"PDA numbers are the types of the information that are restricted here. Now, lets go a bit further," he explained as he typed away some more. Three minutes and several computer screens later Kazuki was once more on the page that displayed when PDA's were issued. "This screen shows us when people were issued their PDA's. The earlier they got it the farther down the list they were found. The thing is that this information is not really accessible unless you know your way around a system. And apparently this girl does. Also, I have a feeling that she knew the time you completed your duel and that's how she found you so fast. Remember all this is speculation, but it is the most logical."

"So, you think that she is pretty smart to find me like this?" Kokuro asked.

"It is really the only way she could have found you," Kazuki said.

"So, if this girl figured out how to find me, can't we logically do the same to her?" Kokuro asked.

Yaku let out a sigh, "I came up with that idea too," he admitted. "We looked for her, and we found her."

"You did!" Kokuro exclaimed.

"Yes," Kazuki answered. He went back a page and then clicked a link right above Kokuro's. They went they went about half way down the list before they came up with a name. It read 'Tanoshimi, Ami," on the left and had her PDA number on the right. "We also sent her a message, but it got bounced back to us saying that the PDA was no longer in service."

"I don't understand," Kokuro said.

"My guess is she somehow got a new PDA, but this page won't tell us that info. We'd have hack deeper into the system to find it; and that is grounds for expulsion."

"Wait, you said hack deeper," Kokuro said. "Does that mean that what you are doing now…"

"Yes, one might say we are hacking into the system," Kazuki answered. "In all honesty, I just manipulated this very nice computer that I have here to get past the firewalls. That's all that really stops us, plus a small password. But people who are good enough can run a program that disables a password for the smallest fraction of time, glide right through that final block, and have instant access into info they seek."

"Sounds like Ami's quite the hacker," Kokuro said.

"There is the small possibility that she has a small Password Decoder," Kazuki said. "In fact, we don't know anything about this girl, she could be an Obelisk Blue and be quite advanced in computers. There is really no way of knowing until we confront her. However the chances of that are slim, seeing as how she was admitted in the same day you were. So more than likely she's either an Osiris, or if she passed the quarterly exam, she could now be a Ra."

"So, are you guys going to tell the administration that she hacked into the system?" Kokuro asked.

"The only way we could do that is if we told them that we too hacked into the system," Kazuki said grinning, his face then turned serious. "Let's face it, the data could be gotten by walking up to someone and getting their number that way, however it's still an offense and there would be consequences. Besides, there isn't any fun in hacking if you get caught," he said grinning again.

"You never struck me as the kind of guy who would enjoy hacking," Kokuro said a tad shocked.

"He began to enjoy it due to my sister," Yaku explained.

"Elda?" Kokuro asked.

Yaku nodded, "Yeah, that wild side of her sort of stuck on him."

"I'm confused, she's 26 isn't she?" Kokuro asked.

"That's right," Yaku said.

"So how did she meet Kazuki?" he asked.

"I used to help Elda with her homework when she came to the Academy," Yaku said. "We would e-mail back and forth and I would give her hints. Her deck may be powerful but her grades sure weren't. She's matured a lot since then. And now that she's the big Product Manager she sees all the cards and can come up with almost any strategy. Anyway, she came back three years ago to help me out, return the favor, and then she met Kazuki."

"So you both have been friends since the beginning huh?" Kokuro asked.

"Yes, you could say that," Kazuki said. "Elda took a great interest in me from the beginning, and we've kept in touch ever since."

"Well that's awesome," Kokuro said. "I'm glad you both could stay friends."

"Me too," Kazuki said as his attention shifted ever so slightly and a small smile cracked his face.

Yaku turned to Kokuro and began whispering, "He does that at times," he explained. "Couldn't tell you why. First time I ever recalled him doing it he asked me if I heard anything, I thought he was crazy."

Kokuro looked shocked, 'could Kazuki have a friendship spirit?' Kokuro wondered.

Kazuki looked down at Kokuro, "Well, we wanted to help you find out more about Ami, hopefully we did."

"Yes, thank you," Kokuro stood up bowing.

"You may stay here with us if you want, but I'm sure you would rather go out and get in some trades. It is Card Trade Day after all, and you will want to prep up for The Project. You will take part in the tournament correct?"

"You better believe it!" Kokuro said making a fist.

"Perhaps we will duel each other again then," Kazuki said. "Until then, feel free to stop by whenever you would like, just make sure you give me a message ahead of time."

"Thank you," Kokuro said bowing again. "See you around Yaku."

"Have fun trading," Yaku said waving.

"I will, thanks guys," he said waving back as he walked out the door.

"It was no problem," Kazuki responded. A few minutes after Kokuro had left a man in a brown suite had come knocking on the door.

When Kazuki answered it the man asked, "Are you Kazuki Ishihaka?"

"I am," he responded. The man then handed Kazuki a package. "Thank you," he replied.

"No problem," the man responded. "Have a good day."

* * *

Kokuro had made his way out of the Obelisk Blue Dormitory and was wandering around. He didn't recognize anything so he just kept walking until he found himself heading towards the Card Shop. He walked into the shop and was surprised to see the amount of people there. Most of them were on the floor looking through each other's binders while others were checking out some of the card racks. 

Kokuro saw a blur of yellow and brown run in front of him going to his right. He was a little startled and started moving forward again as the blur of yellow started running towards him again. It slammed into him and they both fell over. About an instant later Kokuro found that his vision was dark and that there were many booster packs on his head. The box was lifted off his head and he saw Fuuten scrambling to pick up all the boosters that had fallen. Kokuro took the ones off his head and threw them into the box for him.

"What was it Selaya used to say?" Kokuro asked himself. "You've got cards on your head or something like that."

"How nice," Fuuten said absentmindedly as he scrambled to get the rest of the booster packs into the box.

Kokuro just stared at Fuuten and sarcastically said, "No, you don't look busy at all."

Fuuten looked up at him and glared, "Oh, you're hilarious."

Kokuro chuckled, "I'm sorry, is there anything I can help you with?"

"No no, just go have fun trading while I'm stuck running around like a crazy guy."

Just then Setsuna walked over and took the box from him, "Take a break Fuuten, you deserve to be able to trade too you know," she said smiling sweetly.

Fuuten got nervous, "Are you sure? I mean, you could probably really use the help, you're swamped."

"True," she said. "But you've already done more than you need too. Besides, it's not like they are actually buying anything. They all just came here to find a good place to trade."

"What if they did start buying things?" he asked.

"Then I suppose I'll handle it when it comes to that," she said smiling. She then put the box over by the counter and went into the back storeroom. Kokuro and Fuuten just looked at each other and seconds later she came back out. She then turned them around and started pushing them out the door, "Didn't you hear me," she said laughing, "I said go do some trading," and with that she pushed them out of the door.

Once they were outside Kokuro turned to Fuuten, "So, why was I also pushed out?" Fuuten just shrugged. They started walking along the path towards the academy; not really sure where to go.

"You really seem to know how to handle your Kuribohs," Fuuten said to him as they were walking.

"I guess you could say that," Kokuro said. "You really seem to like the Kuribohs too," he said.

Fuuten just laughed, "They're my best friends."

"That's a nice way of putting it," Kokuro said smiling. Just then he thought he heard Sonomi, he looked around real quick and sure enough Sonomi was hanging out with two Obelisks a little farther off the path. "Hey Sonomi!" he said waving as he headed over to her with Fuuten following him.

As Kokuro got closer he recognized one of the Obelisks as Satoshi, they all had binders out and Sonomi was looking through two of them at once, shaking her head as she turned the pages. When she heard Kokuro's voice she turned around and smiled, "hey Kokuro," she said. Suddenly her face got serious again and she turned back to looking through the binders, still shaking her head.

"What's going on?" Kokuro asked.

"Your girlfriend's a real pain in the ass," Satoshi said.

Kokuro and Sonomi's face both turned red. "She/He's not my girlfriend/boyfriend," they both said at the same time.

"I don't really care," Satoshi said, "Just find something you like."

"Hey!" the other Obelisk shouted. "I want it too!" Kokuro took the time to notice that this Obelisk was a female and was thus wearing the female outfit, but over the outfit was a black trench coat, which was why Kokuro didn't realize the student was female right away. She had long silver hair and gray eyes.

"What are you both fighting over?" Kokuro asked.

"We both want her Serpent Knight Dragon for trade bait from other students but she just won't part with it," the female student said.

"They just don't really have anything I need at the moment," Sonomi said. "I don't want to trade for something I'm not going to use."

"I can see the issue," Kokuro said. He thought for a moment then a thought occurred to him, "what about a duel?" he asked.

"A duel?" Sonomi asked.

"Yeah, the winner gets the card they want."

"But they don't have anything I want," Sonomi said.

"And what about us?" Satoshi asked. "If we do this and we win, how do we decide who keeps the card?"

Kokuro shrugged, "I don't know, a free for all?" he suggested.

"It would make the most sense," the female said.

"But they still have nothing that I want," Sonomi said.

Kokuro thought about it for a moment then took out his binder and gave it to Sonomi, "Look through here for something you might want."

Sonomi searched for a few minutes and then spoke, "Those UFO Turtles could help me."

"All three of them?" Kokuro asked.

"Yeah," she said closing the binder and handing it back to him.

"I'm not using them," he shrugged. "So if you win, I'll give you the UFO Turtles, and if one of them win they get the Serpent Knight Dragon."

Fuuten then interjected, "But it's not fair if you are giving up three cards without even gaining anything from the duel."

Satoshi let out a small grunt, as the female student began to speak, "How about this? A tag team duel. We'll both show you our binders, you pick out one thing from each of our binders you like, and if you guys win, Sonomi will get the UFO Turtles and you'll get the two cards from our binders. If we win, we'll take the Serpent Knight Dragon and something from your binder. Sound fair?"

"How are you both going to decide who gets what between you two?" Fuuten asked them.

"We'll figure that out later," Satoshi said annoyed but also seemingly satisfied with the conditions of the duel. "Do you both agree?"

Sonomi and Kokuro looked at each other and nodded. Kokuro showed them his binder and they both agreed on the Black Magician that Kokuro had won from Tejin. Kokuro agreed to the terms and then searched their binders. He picked out a Skilled Black Magician from the female student and an Ultimate Insect LV7 from Satoshi. Sonomi gave him a small look but shrugged it off. Everyone got on his or her respective sides of the field.

"Quick rule review," Satoshi said. "No hand sharing, you can use monsters on your partner's side of the field for tributes, separate Life Points."

The female student thought for a moment then spoke, "If we are using separate Life Points then I propose this. Should our team win, if either of us gets knocked out before the end of the duel, the one who won the duel for the team gets to choose which of the two cards we want."

Satoshi smirked, "That's fine with me," he sneered. "Now, for order of who will go first...Janken?" Everyone agreed so Kokuro and Sonomi went against each other. Thinking Sonomi would choose Rock Kokuro chose Paper, and lost to Sonomi's scissors. Satoshi beat the female student and went over to Sonomi. Sonomi sent out Scissors again which Satoshi crushed with a Rock. Sonomi was a tad surprised, she thought normally people would think she would go for rock and they would use paper on her, that's why she started with Scissors.

"I have my reasons," Satoshi smirked. "So here is the order, Me, Sonomi, Kouken over there, and then Kokuro."

'So Kouken is her name,' Kokuro thought. 'Why do I get the feeling that I've faced her before?' He shrugged it off, 'Must be paranoia. I've never even met her…I think.'

They all shuffled their decks and then as Kokuro and Sonomi inserted their decks they nodded to each other. All the decks were inserted into the Duel Disks that then unfolded. "Duel!" they all called out.

Satoshi looked at his hand and smirked, "I'll begin by setting two cards under the table and one monster on guard," he said as his cards appeared on the field.

"Not much of an opening play," Sonomi said drawing her card. "I'll also set two cards under the table," she announced as her cards appeared face down on her side of the field. "I'll then summon Solar Flare Dragon," she announced as her flaming snake like dragon appeared on the field. (1500/1000) "That's my turn, and because of Solar Flare Dragon's effect, you both lose 500 Life Points," Sonomi said smirking as the dragon shot out two fire balls that blasted into both Satoshi and Kouken. (Satoshi L.P. 7500/Kouken L.P. 7500)

"Impressive," Kouken said drawing her 6th card. "I shall set one monster on guard and then set one card under the table," she announced as her cards appeared on the field. "You're move."

"Yes it is," Kokuro said drawing his card. "I'll summon Skilled Black Magician," he announced as his magician in black robes carrying the silver staff appeared on the field. (1900/1700) "I'll then set one card under the table," he said as his card appeared face down. "It looks like Sonomi and I have both started off on the offensive while you two are playing defense," he chuckled. "It's your turn Satoshi."

"You want me to play offensively?" Satoshi asked drawing a card, "prepare to wish you hadn't. First I'll flip my face down Mine Golem to attack mode," he announced as monster made of rock with a large mine on its head appeared on the field. (1000/1900)

"I don't like the sound of that monster," Kokuro gulped.

"And you shouldn't, especially when I reverse my set card, Minefield Eruption. This card will do 1000 points of damage for each Mine Golem I have on the field to either one of you that I choose, as long as I destroy all Mine Golems on the field afterwards. And I choose Sonomi to take the brunt of this assault!" he called out. Mine Golem erupted and the explosion went towards Sonomi.

'I could save her,' Kokuro thought. 'However…' "Sonomi! I could help you but something is telling me I'll need my card later."

"No problem," Sonomi said as the explosion hit her causing her to grunt a little as her Life Points fell a bit. (7000)

Satoshi smirked, "Now that I've hurt you a bit, I think I'll go after Kokuro now. I summon Monk Fighter!" he announced as a man in an orange shirt with large muscles and white hair appeared on the field. (1300/1000) "Now I reverse my Trap Card, Lone Wolf," he said as his continuous trap rose up. "But I'll explain more about that in a moment. Next I activate Kaminote Blow," he said as Skilled Black Magician gained a spell counter. "Here is how this spell works, if I have at least one Chu-ske, the Mouse Fighter, Monk Fighter, or Master Monk on the field, then during this turn, any monster that battles with them is destroyed after the damage step."

"Pretty impressive," Kokuro complimented. "But not only will you lose your monster, you'll also take some Life Points."

Satoshi simply smirked, "We'll see. Go Monk Fighter attack Kokuro's Skilled Black Magician!" The monk fighter ran forward and started attacking the magician. Skilled Black Magician began to fend off the physical attacks by blocking the fighter with his staff. Finally the fighter jumped up and landed a Karate Chop onto the Magician destroying it before returning back to Satoshi's side of the field.

"Wait a second!" Sonomi called out. "How come your fighter wasn't destroyed? And how come your Life Points are still safe?"

"Monk Fighter has a special ability," Satoshi said grinning. "I don't take any damage for any battles he's in. Also, my Lone Wolf Trap Card makes it so that if Chu-ske the Mouse Fighter, Monk fighter or Master Monk are the only monsters on my side of the field, then they aren't destroyed in battle and they are immune to any of your monster effects," he began to laugh. "So as you can see, that was quite a play I made. Destroying Kokuro's magician with a weaker monster and having absolutely no downfalls. That is the power of Obelisk Blue."

"I'll try to remember it for next time," she mumbled starting her turn. She looked down at the card she drew and smirked, "Well, I think it's time to take this new card for a spin," she said. "I activate Dark Room of Nightmare!" she called out as the continuous spell card appeared on the field. "Now, any time non-battle damage is dealt to a player, that player takes an extra 300 points of damage. That means from now on, any of you that activate a Spell Card will take 1300 points of damage."

"What do you mean?" Kouken asked.

Sonomi looked at her field and smirked, "Opps, my bad, I forgot to reverse my face down Curse of Darkness," she said as her trap card appeared on the field. "Must have just slipped my mind," she said snickering a little. "I suppose I'll just end my turn, that makes Solar Flare Dragon take out another 500 Life Points and Dark Room of Nightmare doing another 300," she smirked as her Dragon released a ball of fire that struck both Satoshi and Kouken. Then the Dark Room of Nightmare card began to glow purple and it fired out a purple aura at the other two causing their Life Points to fall farther. (Satoshi LP: 6700/Kouken LP: 6700)

"Very funny," Kouken said unimpressed as she drew her card, she glanced at it quickly before playing it. "I activate Gravity Axe-Grarl," she said. Just then a bolt of electricity came out of her card and struck her as her Life Point's fell followed up by another blast of dark purple aura. (5400) A large axe appeared on the field, "I equip my Axe to Satoshi's Monk Fighter," she said as the fighter took hold of the axe causing his attack points to increase. (1800/1000) "That completes my turn," she said.

"I almost have to admire that," Kokuro said drawing. "You took heavy Life Points only so that your partner's monster could get stronger."

"Don't be foolish," she said with narrowed eyes. "I didn't do it for Satoshi," she said simply.

"Alriiight," Kokuro said nervously as he looked at his hand. "I suppose this is why I had that feeling I'd have to keep my card. First I reverse my face down Pikeru's Circle of Enchantment. Now, any non-battle damage that is not due to a cost goes to zero, allowing me to play Premature Burial safely." His card appeared and his life points fell slightly. (7200) The lightning shot out of his card and also a dark aura tried to surround him but the rune circle under his feat stopped them.

"You could have taken a lot of damage had you saved me," Sonomi pointed out.

"I know," he said, "doesn't mean I didn't want to save you."

"I understand," she said looking back at Satoshi and Kouken. "But I think I can handle myself."

"Alright," he said before his graveyard began to shine. "Well, now I bring Skilled Black Magician back!" he announced as his magician reappeared. "Now I summon Blast Magician," he said as a magician in red robes carrying a long scythe appeared on the field. (1400/1700) "Since I can't attack Satoshi's monster, there would be no point, I'll send my Skilled Black Magician after Kouken's face down monster," he said as his Skilled Magician brought energy into its staff and fired it at the face down monster. A muscular man wielding a large shield appeared on the field blocking the attack. Kokuro growled as some of his Life Points fell. (6500)

"You just attacked my Big Shield Gardna," (100/2600) Kouken said simply. "Normally my Gardna would switch into attack mode now, but my Gravity Axe forces it to stay on guard. Meaning I have a 2600 point wall you have to get through."

"That must be why she played the Gravity Axe on Satoshi's monster," he said to himself looking over his hand. 'This deck design, it seems oddly familiar, but I know I've never met her before. Either way, I don't have anything that can help right now, but next turn I will.' "I end my turn."

"My move," Satoshi said drawing. "Well, I think it's time I upped the entertainment of this duel, I summon a second Monk Fighter," he said as another fighter appeared on the field. (1300/1000)

'He wouldn't do that unless he had something planed,' Sonomi thought.

"Now it's time for me to sacrifice Monk Fighter for Master Monk!" he said as the new fighter disappeared and a muscular man with no shirt, rugged orange shorts, and long white hair appeared on the field. (1900/1000)

"But you just summoned this turn!" Kokuro argued.

'So that's what he was planning,' Sonomi thought. She then began to speak, "Kokuro, that move is legal. The only way to summon Master Monk is through a special summon, and only by sacrificing Monk Fighter."

"That's right," Satoshi confirmed. "Master Monk is simply an evolution of Monk Fighter; just a traveling fighter trying to find his way in the world. He scoured the earth, training both his body and his mind. He then discovered his inner chi, and used it to become nearly unstoppable. No matter how many challengers, he would keep coming after them, and so that is the way his special ability works. He can attack twice in a battle phase."

"A 1900 that can attack twice!" Kokuro exclaimed.

"Right," Satoshi smirked, "and the first attack will be on Solar Flare Dragon!"

"Reverse Backfire!" Sonomi called out. "Now, whenever a Fire Attribute monster is destroyed, you'll take 500 points of damage, and since it's non-battle, you'll also take another 300 from Dark Room of Nightmare."

"It's worth it," Satoshi said as the Master Monk landed a punch into Solar Flare Dragon's chest destroying it in an eruption of fire. Satoshi covered himself as he was engulfed by the fire and then hit by a dark purple aura. (5900) Sonomi also took damage from the attack, (6600) "Now, Master Monk will wipe out Blast Magician!" The fighter ran towards the scythe wielding magician, knocking away its scythe and landing a strong kick into his chest. The Magician shattered as Kokuro's Life Points also fell. (6000) "Seeing as how we can make tributes from each others monsters, but it is still technically considered separate fields, your Backfire trap doesn't work on me," he said smirking at Sonomi.

"I know that," she said annoyed.

"Just making sure you do," he snickered. "So, I suppose it's your turn then," he said.

"I suppose so," she said drawing. It was then that Sonomi and Kokuro both heard the sound of Kuriboh. They looked at each other and smiled slightly. Sonomi then placed Kuriboh into her hand and examined it. 'There's nothing I have that can beat either of Satoshi's fighters or Kouken's Big Shield Gardna, so I guess a defensive move is the only one I can make.' "I set one monster on guard and end my turn," she said as the horizontal monster card appeared on the field.

That makes it mine then," Kouken said drawing her card. "Seeing as how soon enough Big Shield Gardna will be of no use to me, I'll sacrifice him to summon Guardian Grarl," she said as a dinosaur holding a large axe appeared on the field. (2500/1000) "Guardian Grarl could only be summoned whenever Gravity Axe is on the field. "Guardian Grarl, attack his Skilled Black Magician!" she called out as the dinosaur rushed towards Kokuro's Magician.

"Reverse Magic Cylinder." The Dinosaur went through one cylinder and then out the other and almost slashed Kouken but one of her face down cards reversed itself.

"Holy Life Barrier," she said smirking. "Now I'll simply discard one card from my hand and all damage done to me this turn is reduced to zero," she said smirking as her monsters redirected attack came in contact with the barrier that was put in place. "Now I can move onto my true objective."

"What do you mean?" Kokuro asked.

"I had a feeling your facedown card was Magic Cylinder, but I didn't want to waste Holy Life Barrier and the other card in my hand on a hunch," she said as she turned the card in her hand over.

"Heavy Storm?" Sonomi gasped.

"By attacking your Skilled Black Magician, I forced you into activating Magic Cylinder," Kouken said chuckling. "And now I can also use my Heavy Storm to wipe out both of her annoying cards," she said indicating Sonomi, "without having to just throw a card away to avoid 1300 points of damage. So by cleverly calculating your face down cards, I've made you look like a huge fool."

"Gee thanks," Kokuro said rolling his eyes.

"Clever…" Sonomi admitted.

"Thank you," she replied.

'This Kouken, though she's a little rude, she's very smart. And I truly feel like I know her somehow,' Kokuro thought to himself. 'But this is the first time I've ever seen someone use Guardians. At least, I'm assuming that's her deck theme; it would make sense from what she's shown us so far. Still, her deck strategy is just, so familiar to me for some reason.'

"Now," Kouken continued as she slid the Guardian Baou into the graveyard, "I activate Heavy Storm!" She slid the card into an open Spell/Trap Zone and a large wind came throughout the field. Sonomi's Backfire, Curse of Darkness, and Dark Room of Nightmare were all blown away along with Satoshi's Lone Wolf and her own Gravity Axe. She then looked over at Kokuro and watched his Skilled Black Magician get destroyed.

Kokuro watched as his Skilled Black Magician was destroyed and growled, 'Damn, she's getting to me,' he admitted. 'I'm so distracted by trying to figure out why she seems familiar that I'm not paying attention to the duel.' He shook his head, 'Well, I'm not going to worry about it any longer,' his eyes narrowed. 'She's my opponent and I'm going to defeat her.'

"Now, I think I'll attack you!" Kouken said as she pointed to Kokuro. The Dinosaur ran towards the magician user and brought its axe down, but Kokuro suddenly shouted out.

"Reverse Magic Cylinder." The Dinosaur went through one cylinder and then out the other and almost slashed Kouken but the Holy Life Barrier protected her. "You may not take any Life Points but at least it's better than getting attacked."

"My turn is done," Kouken said simply.

"My move," Kokuro said drawing.

"Don't give up guys!" Fuuten called from the sidelines. "Kokuro may be wide open, and Sonomi may only have one monster on the field while Satoshi has one monster that won't take battle damage and another that can attack twice and Kouken has a 2500 point monster, but that doesn't matter since at least both of you have higher Life Points!"

"You have no idea how much confidence that gives me," Kokuro said sarcastically. "I set one monster on guard," he said as his monster appeared on the field horizontally. "I'm done."

"You sure are," Satoshi said after he had drawn. "Since I know you seem to have a thing for certain hunchbacked magicians, and since I'm pretty sure that you have one down now, I'll use this Nobleman of Crossout to wipe out your face down monster Kokuro." A man in silver armor appeared on the field with a shiny silver sword. It ran it through the face down monster and sure enough, an Old Vindictive Magician was destroyed.

"Damn," Kokuro muttered as he placed the Old Mage on his disk in his pocket and then searched his deck for the other two.

"Now, Master Monk, attack Kokuro twice!" Satoshi called out.

"Not so fast," Sonomi said. "I'm going to save Kokuro from one of your attacks, and I'll do so by discarding Kuriboh.

"Oh yeah!" Fuuten exclaimed as Kuriboh was hit by Master Monk's right fist and shattered.

"Thank you," Kokuro said smiling at Sonomi, and was then struck by Master Monk's left fist. He grunted in pain as his Life Points fell. (4100)

"Are you alright?" Sonomi asked worriedly.

"I will be," Kokuro standing a little shaky. "By the way, I owe you for not saving you earlier and you saving me now."

"Thanks," she said nodding.

"If the two love birds are finished," Satoshi began.

"We are not…" they began before Satoshi cut them off.

"Save it. Monk Fighter, attack Kokuro!" The Monk ran towards Kokuro and Karate chopped him in the chest causing Kokuro to fall to his knees as his Life Points fell. (2800)

"What's with beating up Kokuro?" Sonomi asked.

"Oh, I could attack your monster," Satoshi said. "I mean, I wouldn't take any damage if its toughness was higher if I attacked it with Monk Fighter. However you might be able to do something with it if it is face up. Also, I can't let Kokuro go so easily for disrespecting me that time in the halls, he can consider this payback."

"Gee, thanks so much," Kokuro said annoyed.

"I'll set a card under the table and that will be my turn," Satoshi said.

"My draw," Sonomi said pulling the top card from her deck. Looking down she couldn't help but smile, "and what a draw, but first, I'll summon Hand of Nephthys," she said as a woman with golden armor and long brown hair appeared on the field. (600/600) "Now, I'll use her special ability to sacrifice herself and my face down Balloon Lizard in order to special summon Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys!" Sonomi announced as the large flaming phoenix appeared on the field giving out a mighty roar. (2400/1800) "My phoenix rises once more," she said with her own sort of fire in her eyes and a smile on her face.

Kokuro recognized the smile, it was the same one she had given off the last time he had seen her play the Phoenix. At the time, he just figured she was happy because she had gotten rid of his Black Magician of Chaos using the Hand of Nephthys special ability and Soul Exchange. But even now, with Sacred Phoenix being on the field, he could tell that the smile was different than one of victory.

"Sonomi," he said to her.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"That's your favorite card isn't it?" he said smiling at her.

She nodded, "Yeah."

"Perhaps after the duel you can tell me why," he said looking back at the field.

Sonomi's smile was suddenly replaced by a look of sadness. 'This card…' she thought. A dream like memory came to her. The man from her dream was there again, still seemingly larger than he truly was. The man again pushed down Sonomi before he walked away. However, she stayed on the ground this time. It wasn't until her body was engulfed in flame, and her body became part of the flame, that she began to move. The flames shot into air and took the form of a phoenix, before landing on the ground once more. The phoenix wrapped its wings around itself before slowly disappearing, returning Sonomi to normal. She now had a look of determination on her face, and no signs that she had been crying.

'I've been pushed down so many times,' she thought. 'However, I came back each time and got stronger. I rose again, just like a phoenix, to overcome all obstacles that stood in my way. This card; it's my favorite because it reminds me so much of myself.'

"Now for the card I drew!" Sonomi said, back from her train of thought. "Salamandra! This will raise the attack of the Fire attribute monster I equip it to by 700 points!" she said as the Sacred Phoenix's attack power rose. (3100/1800) "Now, I think it's only fair that if you're going to attack my partner unfairly, I attack you! Sacred Phoenix, strike down Master Monk with Phoenix Flare Flash!" The Phoenix released a burst of fire from its mouth that looked like the fire surrounding the sword on Salamandra. The fire hit Master Monk causing the fighter to cry out in pain before being destroyed.

"You'll pay for that," Satoshi growled as his Life Points decreased. (4700)

"I doubt it," Sonomi smirked. "You're Guardian Grarl is next Kouken," she warned. "I'd start defending if I were you."

Kouken took that as her hint to begin her turn so she drew her card. "I activate Pot of Greed," she said as she drew two extra cards. "I activate Shooting Star Bow – Ceal," she said as her Guardian Grarl put away his axe and took out a bow and arrow set. "Shooting Star decreases Guardian Grarl's attack power by 1000 but now he can attack directly," she explained as Grarl weakened. (1500/1000) "Now I can summon Guardian Ceal," she said as dinosaur that seemed to be made out of magma carrying a bow and arrow set similar to the Shooting Star Bow – Ceal appeared on the field. (1700/1400) "Guardian Ceal's special ability allows me to send an equip card on my side of the field to the graveyard to destroy one monster on the field," she said smirking.

"Uh oh," Kokuro said getting Kouken's drift.

"So I'll sacrifice Shooting Star Bow – Ceal to destroy the Sacred Phoenix!" she called out. The bow and arrow's on Grarl disappeared and one of Ceal's arrows began to glow. It fired one at the phoenix destroying it once the arrow hit. Grarl's attack points then went back to normal. (2500/1000) "Now, I think I'll divide my attacks," she said. "Guardian Ceal, attack Kokuro!" she announced as the Guardian fired another arrow at Kokuro that struck him in his chest.

"Kokuro!" Sonomi called out as his Life Points fell. (1100)

"Don't worry Sonomi," she said chuckling. "You're next, Grarl, attack her!" The Dinosaur took out its axe again and ran over to Sonomi slamming it down onto her causing her to fall onto her left knee as her own Life Points fell. (4100)

"You ok guys?" Fuuten asked nervously.

"Yeah," they both responded standing.

"Your turn Kokuro," Kouken said. "I have a bit more dignity than Satoshi over there, so I spared your miserable Life Points. But don't think that means anything, you're going to lose next turn."

"Fine," Kokuro said drawing his card. "I activate Pot of Greed," he said drawing two cards. "Out comes White Magician Pikeru," he said as the small magician appeared on the field giving a curtsy with her skirt (1200/0) "However, and I hate to say it, but she's only here for tribute."

"You just summoned her, don't you dare even tell me you're summoning again," Satoshi said angrily at him.

"I'm summoning again," Kokuro said smirking. He waited for Satoshi to begin to object before he took a card from his hand and flipped it over, the sight immediately made Satoshi shut his mouth. "I activate Tribute Doll," Kokuro said playing the card. "Now I can offer up White Magician Pikeru for Black Magician!" he announced as Pikeru disappeared and his magician appeared on the field, looking down on the two opponents. (2500/2100) "Black Magician can't attack on the turn it's summoned with Tribute Doll, but I won't worry about that at the moment, it's your turn."

"Fine," Satoshi said drawing. "I set one monster on guard and one card under the table and end my turn," he said as the two cards appeared on the field.

"My move," Sonomi said drawing her card. "You know, I really must thank you Kouken. Destroying my Sacred Phoenix with an effect was a bold move."

"Wha…why?" she asked.

"Because when she's destroyed by a card effect she does what a phoenix does best; comes back!" Kouken let out a growl as fire appeared around the field. The fire ran throughout the field and destroyed every face down card on the field until it came back and transformed into a fiery phoenix. (2400/1800)

"My cards!" Satoshi exclaimed.

"When Sacred Phoenix comes back using its effect, it destroys all spell and traps on the field," Sonomi smirked. "Now I summon Great Angus," she said as a very angry red cow appeared on the field. (1800/600) "And now, let's use some of that fiery rage from my phoenix! Sacred Phoenix, destroy Guardian Ceal! Sacred Flame!" she shouted out as the Phoenix let out a burst of glowing red fire at the Dinosaur destroying it. Kouken growled as her Life Points lowered. (4700) "Now, Great Angus, wipe out that Monk Fighter!" she announced. The cow ran towards the fighter and smashed it with its giant claw. "Due to your fighters ability you don't lose any Life Points, but at least it's gone now. I set one card under the table and end my turn," she said as the card appeared on the field.

Kouken drew her card and looked at it, "I set one monster on guard," she said setting the card she drew. "Now I use my Guardian Grarl to attack your Sacred Phoenix!" she called out.

"Since it's going to be destroyed anyway, how bout I tribute it instead?" Sonomi asked.

"How?" Kouken asked.

"By taking a page out of Kokuro's book and using a bit of magic," she responded. "The magic of Spiritual Fire Art-Kurenai!"

"What's that?" Satoshi asked.

"It's a card that allows me to tribute my monster in order to do damage to Kouken by the original attack of the monster I tribute."

"But that would be 2400!" Kouken exclaimed.

"That's right!" Sonomi smirked.

"Way to go!" Kokuro cheered.

"Great play!" Fuuten agreed.

A girl with red hair, a black bra, and tan cloaks appeared on the field, Kokuro recognized the girl as Hita the Fire Charmer, used by Setsuna. "Now, Hita, take the fire of the Sacred Phoenix as a tribute to use your magical power of Kurenai!" The phoenix transformed into a ball of fire which Hita took into her staff and fired at Kouken causing her to cry out in pain.

"You'll pay for that," Kouken replied as her Life Points lowered. (2300) "Since your monster did a disappearing act I can redirect my attack to your not so Great Angus," she said as the dinosaur slammed its axe down on the cow destroying it, lowering Sonomi's Life Points. (3400) "My turn is over," she said.

Kokuro looked at the field trying to come up with a strategy. So far Satoshi was in the lead with 4700 Life Points, Sonomi was second with 3400, Kouken third with 2300, and he was the one at the bottom with 1100. He looked down at his hand, 'Nothing to summon yet, perhaps my draw will produce better results.' He drew his card and smiled. "Oh yeah," he said. "I remove White Magician Pikeru and Skilled Black Magician from play in order to special summon Chaos Sorcerer," he said as the purple skinned magician in the dark cloaks appeared on the field. "And with his ability I remove Guardian Grarl from play," he said. The sorcerer chanted an incantation causing Grarl to be covered in a bubble and disappear.

"Damn it," Kouken muttered.

"Now since his job is done, I offer up Chaos Sorcerer for Chaos Command Magician," he said as the sorcerer vanished and a magician in green robes appeared on the field wielding a green staff with a ruby in the center. (2400/1900) "Black Magician, attack Kouken's face down monster!" he announced as the Magician fired a blast of magic at the monster. Big Shield Gardna appeared on the field deflecting the attack. Kokuro's Life Points went down minutely. (1000) "No biggy, since your Big Shield is going to come out of hiding."

Kouken growled as she switched the cards position. The man did indeed come from behind his shield as his card beneath him blew away.

"Go Chaos Command Magician, wipe out Big Shield Gardna!" The Magician twirled its staff before firing a red beam of energy at the man destroying him. The rest of the energy engulfed Kouken causing her to cry out in pain and drop to her knees as her life points depleted. (0)

'Damn it all,' she thought. 'That loser Satoshi better win this.'

"Looks like you couldn't cut it," Satoshi smirked at her.

"Just shut up and win," Kouken said upset. 'The only real reason I let Kokuro live last turn is because I swear I've faced him before…but where?'

"Way to go Kokuro!" Fuuten cheered for them as Sonomi gave him a thumb up.

Satoshi drew his card and looked down at it, "I activate Graceful Charity," he said as he drew three cards. He looked them over before discarding two. "I summon Grave Ohja," he said as a purple rock monster appeared on the field wearing a purple robe around its waist and two large blue cylinder things on its arms. (1600/1500) "Now, I'm going to reverse my face down Moai Interceptor Cannons," he said as three Easter Island Head statues appeared on the field. (1100/2000) "Now the effect of my Grave Ohja activates, whenever a monster is reverse summoned, Grave Ohja is allowed to do 300 points of damage to one of you. And the person to take the damage will be Kokuro!" he announced. Grave Ohja pointed at Kokuro as a sandstorm kicked up. It flew over to Kokuro making him use his arms as a shield before the wind died down. (700)

"Are you ok?" Fuuten asked.

"Of course," Kokuro said lowering his arms. "It's just a hologram after all."

"We'll see if your girlfriend thinks the same way," Satoshi said. "Grave Ohja and Moai Interceptor Cannons, attack Sonomi!" Grave Ohja sent out a larger sandstorm than before appeared and went knocking into Sonomi. She gritted her teeth as she defended herself just as Kokuro had. Just as the sandstorm ended the Easter Island statues' mouths began to gather energy before bursting out a beam of the stored energy each blasting Sonomi and knocking her down. (700) "Instead of just defeating Kokuro now, I figured I'd let the two love birds die on the same turn."

"We are not…" they began but he just continued on with his turn.

"Now I'll set a card under the table and use Moai Interceptor Cannon's special ability to switch it face down on guard." The cannons disappeared and a horizontal facing card took their place. "My turn is over," he said.

"My move," Sonomi said as she drew her card. "I summon Raging Flame Sprite," she said as the small sprite appeared on the field twirling her wand. (100/200) "Raging Flame Sprite, attack Satoshi," she commanded as the sprite ran forward and set a portion of Satoshi's uniform on fire. He swiftly patted it away as his Life Points lowered a little. (4600) "Raging Flame Sprite's attack power now becomes 1000 points stronger," she said. (1100/200) "Take it to him Kokuro," she said.

"Right," he said drawing. They both then heard the sound of Kuriboh and once more smiled at each other. Kokuro added it to his hand before making his move, "Black Magician, take out Grave Ohja!" he commanded.

"Negate attack," he said simply as a swirling vortex appeared and blocked the attack.

"Fine, that's the end of my turn," Kokuro said upset.

"My Draw," he said as he drew a card. "I reverse my Interceptor Cannons to have Grave Ohja do another 300 points of damage to you Kokuro," he said as another sandstorm was created. Kokuro growled as his Life Points fell. (400) Now, Grave Ohja, attack and destroy her Sprite!" Satoshi exclaimed as yet another sandstorm was created bashing into the sprite destroying her.

"You listen to me," Sonomi growled as her Life Points fell. (200) "You may beat me now, but Kokuro will still take you out," she said.

"He's not going to take you out Sonomi," Kokuro said seriously.

"Oh?" Satoshi asked. "I was actually going to attack you Kokuro, but since you think that she won't lose this turn, Interceptor Cannons, show that Ra fool that he's wrong!" The cannons burst out another beam of energy when suddenly a Kuriboh intercepted the blast. Sonomi looked over to see Kokuro sliding Kuriboh into his graveyard.

"It's not 1900 Life Points but…" he began before Sonomi cut in.

"We'll call it even." They nodded and then looked back at Satoshi.

"Moai goes on guard and that does it for my turn," he growled.

Sonomi drew her card and set it into her Duel Disk, "One under the table and I'm done," she said.

"My draw," Kokuro announced. "Black Magician, try to strike down Grave Ohja once more!" he called out. This time the Black Magician's attack was successful as Grave Ohja was destroyed and Satoshi lost a few Life Points. (3700) "Chaos Command Magician, attack his face down Cannons!" The magician released a burst of magic that slammed into the statue heads and destroyed them. "My turn is done," he said.

Satoshi was glaring at the two as he drew his card, "Pot of Greed," he said as he drew two extra cards. "I set one card under the table and one monster on guard to finish my turn."

"Running scared huh?" Sonomi asked as she drew. "I summon Solar Flare Dragon," she said. "Then I reverse my Ceasefire," she announced as her trap flipped up. Satoshi's hidden monster appeared and it was none other than Monk Fighter. (1300/1000) "Now you lose 500 Life Points for every effect monster, and I count three she said grinning."

"I'm not done yet," Satoshi said with clenched fists as his Life Points lowered. (2200)

"Might as well be," Sonomi grinned. "After my move, Kokuro will finish you off. Solar Flare Dragon, attack Monk Fighter!" The pyro-type released a ball of fire that headed straight for Monk Fighter.

"How quickly the simple minded forget about set cards. Go Lone Wolf!" The trap flipped up as Monk Fighter stood up and swung around kicking the fireball into the sky. He then knelt back down into his defensive stance.

"Fine, my turn is done and Solar Flare Dragon now attacks _you _for 500 points of damage. The dragon shot out a stream of fire that hit Satoshi in his chest. (1700) "It's your turn Kokuro."

"And I'll gladly take it," he said. "I've been waiting to play this all duel," he said. "But everyone else kept beating me to the punch, so I'll finally activate Black Magic Attack!" The Black Magician began to gather power in its staff before releasing a blast of magic that went past the Monk Fighter and destroyed the Lone Wolf. "Now, Chaos Command Magician, attack Monk Fighter!" The Magician shot out a ruby colored magic blast that struck the fighter destroying him. "Black Magician, end this!" The Magician pointed its staff at Satoshi before releasing a beam of magic that struck him depleting his Life Points. (0)

"Damn!" Kouken said angrily as Satoshi fell to his knees.

The images faded away and Kokuro turned to Sonomi and gave her a thumb up. Fuuten was cheering as Kokuro pulled out his binder again and flipped through it until he found his three UFO Turtles. He took them out, closed the binder putting it back, and then handed them over to her.

"Why thank you," she said taking them looking at them.

Kokuro then went over to Satoshi, "I believe you owe me an Ultimate Insect LV 7," he said holding out his hand. Satoshi retrieved it and flung it at him. Kokuro caught it and was about to speak before Satoshi cut him off.

"I almost beat both of you," he said. "Just remember that the next time you feel like messing with me," with that he walked off without uttering another word.

Kokuro gave him an annoyed look before going over to Kouken, "And….well you owe me…"

"I know what I owe you," she said pulling out the Skilled Black Magician and handing it to him. She stood up from her sitting position and sighed, "Guess I'm out of here," she said starting to walk away.

"Wait," he said.

She stopped and looked over to him, "what?" she asked slightly annoyed.

"I know it's a pretty dumb question, but have we ever met?"

Kouken was a little surprised, "is that why you kept staring at me during our duel?"

"Yeah," he admitted, "I feel like I know you, but I'm almost positive I've never even met you."

"I can testify that we've never met," she said. With that she left the three standing there on the field by themselves. 'I only wish I could stand by that testimony,' she thought to herself as they walked off.

Fuuten walked over to them, "So, what now?"

Instantly Kokuro's hand flew up and smacked Fuuten in the back of the head gaining shocked looks from the others. "What was that for?" Sonomi asked stunned.

Kokuro's face flushed, "Sorry," he said to Fuuten, "Force of habit."

"Could you try to leave that habit at home?" he asked rubbing his head. "That hurt."

"I'm really sorry," he said embarrassed.

"So….um…" Sonomi wasn't sure what they should do next either, but she didn't dare ask the same question.

"I guess we could go and try to find Mia," Kokuro suggested.

Fuuten just then realized that Kokuro had been alone when they met at the Card Shop, "you guys are always together," he said. "So why were you apart this time?"

"We figured we would reduce the mob size if we split up," Kokuro said sheepishly.

"Ahh," Fuuten said looking very thoughtful for a moment, "I don't get it."

Sonomi just shook her head, "don't worry about it," she said.

"Cool," he said. "So…crap!"

"What?" they both asked at the same time.

"I almost said the forbidden sentence," he responded.

They both looked at each other before giving off a small smile, "That would have been bad," Kokuro said in a slightly menacing voice.

"Real bad," Sonomi agreed in a voice just as menacing. Fuuten gulped as they both laughed.

"Come on, let's go find Mia," Sonomi said. They agreed and all three of them headed off.


	24. Card Trade Day! Part Two

Sdrive: Time to begin the next chapter of Ra Yellow. So I didn't realize until about an hour ago that today was Friday. I'm not used to posting yet so it kinda threw me for a loop, sorry bout that guys. Anyway, enjoy.

* * *

Mia Notosa was walking through one of the forested parts of the Island. The path she took brought her towards the backside of the Ra Yellow dormitory. She didn't think she would get mobbed by as many people as Kokuro and Sonomi would, but she wasn't taking any chances. She found her way to a back door and silently slipped inside.

She got into the halls of the dormitory and made a run for her room. In the process she ran right into Professor Hikari. "I'm so sorry," she said bowing.

"You need to watch where you're going," Professor Hikari said sternly.

"Sorry," she said, "but I don't want to get mobbed by anybody when I don't even have my binder." It was true; she was only in the Ra Dorm again because she had left her binder in the room when she attacked the students with the Armed Dragon LV 7.

"What a shame," he said dusting off his uniform even though it was free from grime.

"What is?" she asked.

"That you, a great duelist, are living the lowly life of the shadow underneath Sonomi and that failure's feet."

She heard both Kuriboh and Hane Kuriboh let out a cry and she shot back at Professor Hikari, "I am not a shadow!"

"Aren't you?" he asked. "Because from what I've seen all you ever let those two do is walk over you. You are so much better than both of them, and yet you let them win."

"Sonomi won our duel!" she shouted back.

"You weren't giving it your all, if you were, you wouldn't have lost," he argued.

"That's not true at all," she said. "She has some of the few cards that can slow my deck down…"

"Everyone has a few cards that slow your deck down," he said smirking.

"What are you talking about?" she asked angrily.

"There is one fatal flaw in your deck, something that not even your deck can stop." He paused before speaking, "No, that's not entirely true. You have one card to stop it, but after you use it, you have to find other alternatives to get past the problem, and at that point all you can do is go for a quick win."

As much as Mia was annoyed with him, she couldn't help but think, 'Could there really be a problem with my deck that I'm not entirely aware of?' "Why are you telling me this?" she asked.

"Because you, like Hinote, are a Ra Yellow student, and under my care and supervision. It's my duty to show you ways to improve your deck, and as your teacher, I'm telling you that your deck has a fatal weakness. Although it's true that you can usually defeat an opponent very early in the duel, if they happen to draw one of the cards that will stop you, your deck is practically useless. I'd think it over, its good strategy to be prepared," he said as he walked off.

'A fatal weakness,' she thought taking out her deck and looking over it.

Down the hall Hikari looked back at her and smirked, 'True it's my job to help her as a Ra Student…but if she just happens to publicly humiliate that "should-be-Osiris," then it just makes my job all the nicer.'

* * *

Mia had found her way into her room and had gotten her binder, but instead of heading out to trade, she was lying on her bed with her binder on her stomach. "My deck has a fatal weakness…" she repeated. "I can't figure it out. I know of Gravity Bind, Sonomi demonstrated that first hand, but I can't think of anything other than it. I doubt it's solely Gravity Bind because I have the Armed Dragon, Silent Swordsman, and Ultimate Insect LV 3's to get past all that. If I have used up the other Level's then they won't evolve, and I can use them to get past it. I have to try to figure out what my deck's weakness is. If I can find it, I can trade for things that will help me get past it."

Just then her PDA went off. She reached for it in her pocket and turned it on, "Hello?" she asked.

"Hey Mia, it's me, Yaku," came Yaku's voice.

"Hey Yaku, what's up?" she asked.

"I got a package here from my sister, Elda. She sent me a couple of cards to help me for when the Project starts."

"Lucky," Mia responded.

"Don't be so pessimistic," Yaku joked. "There are some cards in here for you as well."

"Say what?" she asked confused.

"Yeah, she told me she was going to send them to Master Kaiba but ended up sending them to me instead. She figured it would be easier than bothering Master Kaiba. If you want to stop by the Obelisk Dorm I'll be in Kazuki's room. You know the way right?"

Mia nodded even though she knew Yaku couldn't see her, "yeah, I know the way. I'll be there in a couple of minutes."

"Alright, I'll see you here," he responded.

Mia grabbed her binder and sat up straight packing it into her small knapsack. She headed out closing the door behind her and began to make her way out towards the Obelisk Blue Dormitory. Along the way she saw an Osiris Red student sitting on one of the benches by himself. He looked up at her and walked over to her, "Excuse me miss, would you mind trading with me?"

Mia looked down at the Osiris and for the first time in a long time, frowned. "I'm sorry, but I'm not entirely sure what I want to trade for right now."

"What's wrong?" the boy asked.

"The Ra Administrator informed me that my deck had a fatal weakness, but I can't figure out what it is, and until I do, I don't want to trade until I know what I'm looking for to fix it."

The boy smiled at her, "I'm sure it won't be hard, you are a Ra Yellow after all. I'm positive you'll find what you need."

Mia couldn't help but smile, "Thank you, and I'm sure you'll find someone who will trade with you."

"I sure hope so," he said. With that they parted ways, and Mia felt a bit better about her decks 'fatal weakness.'

* * *

Mia had found her way to the Obelisk Blue Dormitory, and more importantly, to Kazuki's room. She knocked on the door and waited for Yaku to answer, "Hi Yaku," she said waving.

"Hello Mia," he said allowing her inside.

Mia looked at Kazuki's large room, "It's so big in here," she said amazed.

Kazuki walked up to her nodding, "Yes, it is. It's good to see you Mia."

"Good to see you too," she said. Yaku then came up to her and handed her a small envelope.

"The cards are in here," he said. "I haven't looked at them; I figured it would be disrespectful."

"I appreciate it Yaku," she said taking the envelope, "I'll have to write your sister a thank you letter." Just then a thought occurred to her, her face reddened a little and she took out her deck. "If you guys don't mind, could you look over my deck and tell me what you think?"

Yaku's eyebrow raised slightly, "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Well," she didn't want to tell them that it was Professor Hikari that had told her there was a weakness to her deck, but she could tell Yaku was already onto her that something was up. "I was looking over my deck, and it just seemed as though something was wrong, I was looking for some expert advice."

"No problem," Yaku said, "I'd be more than happy to help," he said taking the deck from her and flipping through the cards in it. His eyes scanned it thoroughly before shrugging, "everything seems to be in order," he said. "I couldn't see anything wrong with it. Would you mind if Kazuki looked it over?" Mia shook her head and he handed it over to Kazuki.

Kazuki took one look through it and then frowned before handing the deck back to her. "Your deck has a fatal weakness," he said bluntly.

Both Mia and Yaku looked astonished, "Could you tell me what its problem is?" Mia asked.

"I'm afraid I can't," Kazuki said.

Yaku got annoyed, "How can you tell that it has a so called 'fatal weakness' and yet not tell her what it is?"

"Because it is something that she has to figure out for herself," Kazuki answered. "If she can't find it out for herself, then she won't learn how to over come it. I admit she has a fast and deadly deck, but there is still a weakness, and it can become the decks overall downfall." Mia frowned and looked down at the deck at her hand, "Don't worry Mia," he said. "You did build a powerful deck, I said it before, and I will repeat it. Your deck is fast and deadly, I'm positive you'll find a way past the weakness."

That made Mia look up and smile, "Thanks guys," she said.

"Anytime," Yaku said.

"It was my pleasure," Kazuki said nodding.

"Well, I guess I'll head out and find a duelist," she said.

"I thought you would want to try to fix your deck first," Yaku said.

"I do," she responded giving a peace sign, "and the best way to do that is by dueling."

"I agree," Kazuki said. "And whether you find the weakness or not, I wish you the best of luck."

"Me too," Yaku said giving a thumbs up.

"Thanks again guys," she said as she ran out of the room waving.

Once she was out of earshot Yaku closed the door and turned to Kazuki, "So, since it's not my deck, are you going to tell me its fatal weakness?"

"Do you promise not to instantly e-mail her telling her?" he asked.

Yaku couldn't tell if he was joking, or being serious. "Of course I won't, you said it yourself; she can't really do anything about it if she doesn't figure it out on her own."

"That's not true," Kazuki responded. "She could definitely do something about it if she was told what the problem was." Yaku looked puzzled and Kazuki explained further, "She could fix the problem effortlessly, but she wouldn't learn anything from it."

"I get it," Yaku said. "If she can't learn from this problem, then she'll never be able to fix anything on her own."

"Exactly," Kazuki said. "And isn't that what we come here to do, to learn from our mistakes and enhance our skills?"

"True enough," Yaku said. "So, tell me, what is the weakness?"

"It's simple," Kazuki said. "The decks weakness is…"

* * *

Mia was out of the Obelisk Dormitory and was on the field looking for an opponent, "I wonder where I can find someone to duel. More than likely there will be kids wanting to test out the changes they made to their decks. If I can find one of them, I have a chance of figuring out my deck's weakness."

She walked throughout the field looking for someone to duel when suddenly someone called out her name, "Mia!" the voice said. "Oh Miiiiaaaaa."

Mia turned around to see a boy in a Ra Yellow uniform coming up to her. He was about her height, had short green hair accompanied with purple eyes, and a Duel Disk on his arm. Mia was slightly shocked to see him coming up to her, "Aijou?" she asked. "Raburomansu Aijou? Is that really you?"

"Ahh, I knew you couldn't forget a face like mine," he said pointing his thumb to his face and giving off a smile with sparkling clean teeth.

"Gee, the last time I saw you had to have been while we were both heading to the Academy for the start of our second year. So what have you been up to?" she asked.

"I've been trying to figure out a way to get you alone without those friends of yours around so I could talk to you."

"Oh?" she said puzzled. "What about?"

"I want you to be my girlfriend," he said straight out.

Mia giggled a little, "Well, I'm flattered, but I already have a boyfriend," she said shrugging, "sorry."

"I don't think you understand," he said. "The reason I wanted you alone was so that I could read you a poem that I wrote for you. As you know, I'm not a big fan of expressing my emotions, at least not emotions of love, so I needed you away from your friends so that I could read you this poem and swoon you off your feet. Of course, you'll have to keep this poem a secret and only your ears will hear it."

"Well…this is all very flattering, but I've already got a boyfriend," she said.

"Details," he said shaking his hand at her. "You can always dump him and then get together with me, and to convince you, I'll read you my poem."

"But I'm not really interested…" she was cut off before she could say anymore.

"Mia, you are the prettiest girl I have ever seen, you should know right now you're my Cosmo Queen. With you there is no ugliness to be unfurled, you are sexier than the Black Magician Girl. With you my heart knows no maybe, you're deadlier than a Harpy Lady. You'd look great in a wedding blouse, you're tougher than Chus-kei, the fighting mouse. You're my love as you can see, you'll always be my Cosmo Queen." He looked at her with a coy smile, "so, what'd you think?"

Mia let out a sigh, "It was very sweet Raburomansu…"

"Please, call me Raburo," he said.

"It was very sweet Raburo, but I'm afraid I'm just not interested."

"I'm sorry Mia, but I won't take no for an answer," he responded. "I made a vow on the very day I met you that you'd be my girlfriend. You remember how we met don't you**?"**

"_Alright," Jukata-Sensei said to his fresh bunch of Osiris Red Students. "I want you all to find another student and duel them. It is my belief that if you start off with a duel right away, you'll feel more comfortable when it comes time to duel against people in other dormitories. So find a partner and have yourself a duel."_

_Mia looked around anxiously for someone she could duel. Her eyes spotted Sonomi but she quickly shook her head, 'Sonomi and I are roommates and she seems to be very powerful, I'd hate to have to duel someone who might take me out immediately; at least during my first duel at the Academy.' Her eyes shifted around until she stopped on a boy with shoulder length green hair and purple eyes. The boy was looking right at her and he immediately walked up to her._

"_You look like you haven't found a partner yet," he said. "So how bout it? Feel like taking on Raburomansu Aijou?" he asked._

"_Sure," Mia said._

"_How about we go out into the hall? That way there will be more room and you won't have to worry about everyone watching you lose."_

_Mia was a little worried now but she nodded and they went out into the hall. They inserted their decks and watched their brand new Duel Disks unfold. "Duel," they called out as Raburomansu declared that he would go first. He drew his six cards and looked at his hand. "I'll summon Neo the Magic Swordsman and call it a turn," he said as a sword wielding, armor wearing, Spellcaster appeared on the field. (1700/1000)_

_She drew her card and took a monster card and placed it on her disk. "I'll summon Silent Swordsman LV3," she said as her small, green swordsman wearing a blue jacket, a blue helmet, and white gloves appeared on the field. (1000/1000)_

"_What a cute little monster for a cute little girl," he mocked._

"_I bet you won't think it's so cute when I activate Level Up!" Mia's Silent Swordsman then began to grow taller as his sword got longer and more impressive. (2300/1000) "This is Silent Swordsman LV5, now I activate Premature Burial, paying 800 Life Points to bring back Silent Swordsman LV3," she explained as her Life Points lowered and her other Silent Swordsman came back to the field. (7200) "Silent Swordsman LV5 attack Neo and then Silent Swordsman LV3 attack Raburomansu," she called out. The larger swordsman knocked Neo's sword away and then sliced him in half before the younger swordsman slashed Raburomansu in the chest decreasing his Life Points. (6400) "I set a card under the table and end my turn," she announced._

_Raburomansu drew a card and added it to his hand before taking a different card and placing it on the disk. "I summon Saggi the Dark Clown," he said as the weird clown monster appeared on the field snickering evilly. (600/1500) "Now, I play not one, but two Dark Energies," he said as he slid the two cards in the disk. "This doubles the attack power of all dark type monsters on the field," he chuckled as he watched his Saggi go from being a 600, to a 1200, to finally stopping at a 2400. "Go and attack her Silent Swordsman LV5," he announced as the clown leapt forward for an attack. Suddenly its attack was halted and it was changed on guard as were both of Mia's monsters._

"_My Zero Gravity says otherwise," Mia explained._

"_Fine, I end my turn," he said annoyed._

_Mia drew her card, "Since it's my Standby Phase, my Silent Swordsman LV3 is evolved into my second Silent Swordsman LV5," she explained as her other Silent Swordsman got older and it's blade got longer, also the Premature Burial card vanished. "I then switch my Silent Swordsman LV5 to attack and summon Armed Dragon LV 3," she said as a small dragon wearing armor appeared on the field growling a little. (1200/900)_

_Raburomansu growled a bit, "No, you can't do that," he said._

"_Of course I can," she said. "The evolutions were special summons," she said. "Now, Silent Swordsman LV5, attack that creepy clown," she called out as the first Silent Swordsman sliced Saggi in half. "Now, my other Silent Swordsman and Armed Dragon, attack the player!" The other Swordsman slashed Raburomansu and the dragon punched him as his Life Points fell even farther. (2100) "My turn is over," she said._

_Raburomansu drew a card and played it immediately, "Pot of Greed," he said as he drew two cards and started to sweat. "I activate Nightmare Steel Cage," he said as a cage appeared around Mia and her monsters. "Now neither of us can attack for two turns; that should be enough time to draw a good monster. Go little girl."_

_Mia drew and suddenly the Silent Swordsman that had attacked Raburomansu and the Armed Dragon began to change. The Swordsman just got taller and its sword got much larger as the dragon got much bigger, and its armor began to protrude larger spikes and its wings got slightly larger. (2800/1000) (2400/1700) Just then the steel cage around Mia became transparent. _

"_What did you do to my Nightmare Steel Cage?" he demanded._

"_Simple," she responded. "My Silent Swordsman LV7 negates all spell cards, so in other words, your Nightmare Steel Cage can't save you. Silent Swordsman LV7, attack the player with Silent Slash Attack!" The swordsman ran forward and brought its sword straight down Raburomansu's body as he screamed in pain and fell backwards as his Life Points depleted. (0) "You've been Leveled Up," Mia said giving off a smile and peace sign. The images faded and she went over to try to help him up. "Are you ok?" she asked offering her hand._

"_I'm fine, just go back in there and leave me alone," he said rejecting her hand. She shrugged and went back inside of the room. 'One day, I'm going to be that girl's boyfriend, and we'll be unbeatable,' he thought to himself._

Mia thought back to the day they met and nodded, "Yeah, I beat you without losing a single Life Point," she said. "I tried to help you up but you told me to leave you alone."

"That's right, I was too self righteous to admit it to you then, but I swore that I'd be your boyfriend and that we'd be unbeatable after we were together."

"No offense," Mia said, "But you were a pretty bad duelist back then. It was just sheer luck you pulled two Negative Energies in our duel."

"True, but I made an unconscious vow that day as well, that I never even knew I had made until I realized I was already doing it," he said.

"And what's that?" she asked.

"That I would watch your duels like a hawk, then I'd construct a deck that could beat yours. Then once you were beaten, you'd be so eager to have me be your boyfriend."

Mia just groaned slightly, "I hate to break it to you, but I'm not the kind of girl that falls in love with someone because they can beat me at Duel Monsters."

"I was prepared for that," he said smugly. "Remember, I've watched you like a hawk, I know almost everything about you, and that's why I came prepared with this challenge, you duel me right here and right now. If I win, you become my girlfriend, if I lose I leave you alone forever. And if you refuse this duel, it counts as a forfeit, and I automatically get you as my girlfriend."

"You can't just do that," Mia said annoyed.

"I can and I have," he smirked. "Now, duel me," he pulled out his deck, shuffled it, and then inserted it into his Duel Disk causing it to unfold.

Mia didn't want to duel him with those stakes, but she figured that it would be an easy win; especially with the two cards she had gotten from Elda. She pulled out her deck, shuffled it, and then inserted it into the Duel Disk causing it to unfold. "I won't lose," Mia said confidently.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Raburomansu said chuckling, "Like I said, I've studied your deck and found a way to overcome it. If my hunch is right, you haven't figured out that your deck has a fatal weakness, and because of that weakness, I can destroy you and make you my girlfriend."

Mia was suddenly nervous, 'he knows my deck's weakness?' she thought worried. 'Oh man, what have I gotten myself into?' she asked herself. She then shook her head, took a deep breath, and looked on with determination. 'From what I've been told, it's only a problem if they draw something that can stop it right away,' she thought. 'Otherwise, my deck is fast and deadly. If he doesn't pull what he needs, I should have no problem defeating him.'

The Life Points set to 8000 and they both shouted out, "Duel!"

"Since you went first last time," Mia began as she drew her sixth card. "It's only fair that I go first this time."

"Fine by me," he said. 'She's hoping to get a good monster out so that I can't beat her,' he thought. 'Too bad Mia, I swore that you'd be my girlfriend, and I'm keeping that promise.'

"To begin, I'll summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 in attack mode," she said as her small silver dragon appeared on the field as it raised its wings threateningly. (1600/1000) "I'll then set one card under the table and end my turn," she said placing the card down watching it appear. 'He's probably going to try to use a Gravity Bind,' she thought. 'Good thing I have my Armed Dragon LV3 ready.'

"My turn," Raburo said drawing his card elegantly. "You know Mia, many girls have tried to get me to become their boyfriend, but I've turned them all down just for you."

Mia wasn't sure whether she should ignore him politely or excuse herself to go throw up. She wanted to tell him that she didn't appreciate the way he was being such a jerk, but her kindness made her repress herself. "That's very nice…"

'Oh yes,' Raburomansu thought to himself. 'That means that she's going to go out with me, she's so stunned that I left every other worthless girl for her.' His delusions were cut short as soon as Mia continued.

"…but I'm afraid that you turned down a lot of nice girls for nothing."

Raburo frowned but then just grinned, "We'll soon see," he said. "I'm sure you're very familiar with this monster," he smirked as he placed a card down and a small sprite with a tiny staff in its hand appeared on the field. (100/200)

"Raging Flame Sprite?" Mia asked curiously.

"That's right," Roburo said, "Now, attack her Life Points." The sprite waved its staff and Mia's shirt began to catch on fire. Mia quickly put it out as her Life Points decreased minimally. (7900) "As you know, Raging Flame Sprite now gains 1000 attack points," he said as the small sprite got stronger. (1100/200) "I'll set two cards under the table and hand it over to you," he said as the two cards appeared. "You know Mia, if you want to just realize how wrong you are and allow me your hand," he held out his own, "then I'll gladly end your suffering."

Mia was truly annoyed now, "Forget it," she said very uncharacteristically as she drew. "Let me explain something to you Roburo, I'm not just some thing that you think you can get just because you want it. I'm a person with feelings, and right now I feel disgusted at the way you're treating me. Because of this, I will show you no mercy in this duel."

"Then let's see you try to defeat me," he said smugly.

"Gladly," she murmured so that he couldn't hear her. "I'm sure you'll remember _this _monster as well, I summon Armed Dragon LV3," she said as her small orange dragon appeared on the field. (1200/900) "Horus, attack Raging Flame Sprite! Black Fire!" Horus began to fly when it was slammed down to the ground and an energy net appeared, holding it down. 'I knew it,' Mia thought smugly.

"My Gravity Bind stops your monster dead in its tracks," Raburo said.

"Then have it stop this!" she shot back. "Armed Dragon, destroy Raging Flame Sprite!" The Dragon easily avoided the net and released a burst of fire that knocked into the Flame Sprite destroying her; Raburo's Life Points fell slightly. (7900) "That's my turn," Mia said.

"Then that makes it mine," Raburo said drawing a card. "This next monster is a worthless piece of junk…or so everyone thinks."

"What are you talking about?" Mia asked.

"This is the 7th monster on the product line, and let me just say, not all new releases are better than the original; but against you, he's perfect.

"Just cut to the chase," Mia said.

"I summon Android Psycho Shocker#7!" he said as a miniature version of the Android Psycho Shocker appeared. It had purple arms and legs, a red chest plate with a blue block with a 7 on it. It had a silver mouthpiece and a blue helmet. (500/400) "This monster can easily bypass my Gravity Bind, and not because he negates traps, but because he's a level two and he can attack directly." Mia gasped as green beams shot out of the machine's eyes and struck Mia in her chest dropping her Life Points. (7400) "I believe it's your turn m'lady."

One eye roll later Mia had drawn and Armed Dragon was beginning to evolve. "As you know my Armed Dragon LV3 evolves into Armed Dragon LV5 during my standby phase."

"And as you know," Raburo said as his face down reversed, "A Divine Wrath can allow me to negate the activation of your monster's effect and destroy it at the cost of one card."

"No way!" Mia exclaimed as she watched Raburo drop a card and a bolt of lightning fell from the heavens blasting the tiny dragon into oblivion.

"Parting is such sweet sorrow," he said sadly. "I know from experience."

"I'm sure," Mia growled. She scanned her hand and smiled when she saw a good option, "I summon Silent Swordsman LV3!" she announced as the tiny, green skinned swordsman wearing its traditional blue robes, and white gloves, while holding its sword appeared on the field. (1000/1000) Its orange hair rustled in the breeze while Mia looked on at it, 'this one's for you dad,' she thought to herself. "Silent Swordsman LV3, attack Android Psycho Shocker #7!" she called out as the swordsman jumped forward and slashed the machine in half causing it to explode and for Raburo's Life Points to fall. (7400) "That's my turn," she said.

Raburo drew his card and looked down at it. He thought for a second before looking up and asking, "Tell me, do you like escargot?"

"I hate it," she said sticking out her tongue, "yuck."

"Me too," Raburo said chuckling, Mia couldn't help but give off a small smile, it was funny after all. Raburo then looked at Mia and grinned, "Unfortunately for us it makes a great attacker either way." He threw the card onto the disk and a yellow snail with a blue shell appeared on the field. (700/500) "Attack her directly!" he ordered as the snail spat out a small purple liquid. The liquid hit Mia on her arm and it began to burn as her Life Points fell. (6700) She quickly got it off and the burning sensation fled. "Isn't acid a horrible thing?" he asked. "You might want to try salt," he suggested waving his hand to signal the end of his turn.

"I'll keep it in mind," she said drawing. "Silent Swordsman LV3 now evolves into Silent Swordsman LV5," Mia said as her swordsman got significantly taller and his sword grew much longer as well. (2300/1000)

"A hansom guy your swordsman is," Raburo said, "but now he's too strong and Gravity Bind keeps him down."

Mia watched as her swordsman was forced to kneel down, 'Too bad my swordsman doesn't stop traps,' she thought to herself. She paused while she started thinking about what she had just said. She watched as Raburo tapped his foot impatiently and she returned her thoughts to the duel, "I summon Ultimate Insect LV3," she announced as the ugly purple bug with red spots here and there appeared on the field. (1400/900) "Ultimate Insect LV3, attack that snail!" she called out as the bug slithered over to the snail and bit down on its exposed stomach destroying it. Raburo growled a bit as his Life Points once again went down. (6700)

"You've managed to keep us tied," Raburo said. "Your skills as a duelist are impressive," he admitted.

"Thank you," Mia said smiling.

"Too bad I'm going to turn it around again in the next round."

"Then bring it," she said.

Raburo drew a card and added it to his hand before taking another and setting it, "two under the table and that ends my turn."

"So much for that," Mia said as she drew her card.

* * *

Kokuro and Sonomi were out and about with Fuuten trying to find Mia, "How can it be this hard to find such a cute girl in this crowd of ugly mugs?" Fuuten asked scratching the back of his head in confusion.

"While I'm sure she would appreciate the compliment," Sonomi began, "you have to remember that this is a large island. She could be anywhere, and she could be doing anything."

"That's right," Kokuro said as he kept his eyes scanned. "She could be trading, or even dueling. Heck for all we know she could be in the dorm sleeping."

"We already checked the dorm," Fuuten complained.

"She could have gone there after we left," Kokuro pointed out.

"I doubt she's sleeping," Sonomi said. "That girl has too much energy to waste. I remember the first day I had classes with her. Jukata-sensei had the class participate against one another. Her and this rich snob, Raburomansu, went out into the hall to duel and she came back only five minutes later telling Jukata-sensei that she was victorious."

Fuuten and Kokuro just stared at Sonomi in awe as she retold the story. Once they were over their amazement they looked at each other and gave a small shiver, "Sweet but deadly," Fuuten said.

"Oh yeah," Kokuro agreed nodding. A thought then occurred to him and he turned to Sonomi, "You called that Radburomansued…"

"Raburomansu," Sonomi corrected for her friend.

"Yeah, that guy, you called him a rich snob. You know him?"

Sonomi looked as if she had almost said too much before continuing, "Yeah, his dad is this owner of a really big company. He wouldn't shut up about how rich he was the few times I've talked to him, and those conversations didn't last too long either. His dad has a business rival, and that's usually where our conversations would go, about how much better his dad's company was than his rival's." She seemed to have rolled her eyes but Kokuro wasn't sure since they stayed up at the sky. When she looked back down she seemed to be a little crept out.

"You ok?" Kokuro asked her.

"Yeah," she said, "but I think he stalks Mia."

"He…stalks her?" Fuuten asked confused.

"I think so. Every time she has an arena duel I've seen him either in the balcony or close up to the arena, almost as if he's studying her. I caught him in the balcony for a brief moment when we watched the training video."

"What do you think his deal is?" Fuuten asked.

Sonomi gave a small shrug, "he's more than likely annoyed because she beat him so quickly. Come to think of it," she said as she looked thoughtful for a moment, "every time I've spoken to him has been during one of Mia's arena duels."

"Weird," Fuuten said.

"Agreed," Kokuro said looking at Fuuten.

"I doubt there's anyway he could ever beat her," Sonomi said. Suddenly Sonomi's and Kokuro's Kuribohs appeared sitting on their shoulders letting out a cry. The two looked at each other for a moment nodding.

"I think Mia's dueling," Kokuro finally said.

"What makes you say that?" Fuuten asked.

"Just a hunch," Sonomi said while Kokuro nodded at her.

* * *

Mia smiled as she placed Kuriboh into her hand and watched the Kuriboh Spirit on her shoulder look over her hand with her before vanishing. "Ultimate Insect LV3 evolves," she stated as the bug began to shine and grew into a giant grey bug with sharp protrusions sticking out of its body and razor like legs.

"Reverse my second Divine Wrath!" he shouted as another bolt of lightning came crashing down once he dropped a card. The bug was destroyed and Raburo smirked.

Mia noticed that she couldn't summon any other monster than Kuriboh, "I end my turn," she announced.

"To your End Phase I activate Sleepy Sheep!" Raburo announced as a Pink, Red, Blue, and Yellow Sheep appeared on his side of the field on guard.

"They're cute but they won't help you win," Mia said boldly.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," he said as he drew his card. "I summon Cannon Soldier." A purple machine with a gun on its shoulder appeared on the field standing in the middle of the sheep. (1400/1300) "In case you didn't know, my Cannon Solider has the ability to send monsters to the graveyard in order to do 500 points of damage for each monster."

"But that would mean…" Mia began.

"That's right!" he smirked as all of his Sleepy Sheep vanished. "I fire all four of my sheep to do 2000 points of damage right to your Life Points!" The cannon fired off four rounds that all hit Mia knocking her backwards as her Life Points dropped. (4700) "It's your move."

Mia drew her card but still couldn't do anything, "I pass," she said.

"My move then," Raburo said drawing his new card. "Oh, this is perfect," he said chuckling. "I summon my second Raging Flame Sprite," he said as another pixie appeared on the field. (100/200) "Now I activate, Gift of the Martyr."

"What does that do?" Mia asked.

"That allows me to offer up one monster on my side of the field and give its attack power to one of my monsters for the remainder of the turn. So I offer up Cannon Soldier to increase the attack power of Raging Flame Sprite." Mia gasped as she watched the Cannon Soldier glowed and disappeared as the Flame Sprite also glowed and its attack power increased. (1500/200) "Raging Flame Sprite, attack the player!" The Sprite released a stream of fire that headed straight for Mia; but before it could get to her Kuriboh intercepted the attack.

"I discarded Kuriboh from my hand to negate the damage on my Life Points. And as you know, since Raging Flame Sprite didn't do any damage it doesn't get stronger this turn."

"I end my turn," Raburo said grumbling as Raging Flame Sprite's attack power returned to normal. (100/200)

Mia drew her card and frowned slightly, "I set one card under the table," she said as the brown backed card appeared. "That does it for me."

Raburo drew his card and smiled at it, "You know what I love so much about Card of Sanctity?" he asked.

"What?" she asked.

"It shows money falling from the sky," he said grinning.

"I should have known," Mia said annoyed.

"I activate Card of Sanctity," he said as light came from the sky. "It would be cooler if the holograms actually had money falling."

"Whatever," Mia said drawing her one card as Raburo drew a full six.

"I set one card under the table and summon an old friend of yours," he said as a dark clown appeared on the field. (600/1500) "Surely you remember Saggi the Dark Clown?"

"Hi Saggi," Mia said waving bored. Saggi responded by merely laughed insanely at her.

"Come on," Raburo said getting annoyed himself, "What's wrong? Aren't you enjoying this duel?"

"To be honest, not anymore," she said. "The entire reason for this duel is stupid. You need to accept the fact that I'm not interested and you have to stop trying to hit on me. It got seriously annoying."

"But….what about my poem?" he asked.

"It was….well…" she tried desperately to find something nice to say about it. "It was inventive," she said finally thinking of something.

Raburo just gave her a blank stare, "It's as creepy as Saggi isn't it?" Saggi, always one to voice his opinion, laughed insanely once more.

"Yeah…kind of," Mia said.

Raburo looked down at the ground, and Mia could tell he was pretty upset, "I thought that if I could beat you in a duel, I would be able to impress you enough to win you over."

"You have to understand that I'm not that kind of person. I don't fall for someone just because they can beat me. I'm with my boyfriend because he's very nice to me and I love him."

"I'm sorry," Raburo said. "You deserve better than me."

"We can still be friends if you want," Mia said trying to cheer him up.

Raburo looked up at her and smiled, "I'd like that a lot."

"Good," Mia said nodding. "Now that I know you'll stop hitting on me, let's finish this duel."

"Sounds good," Raburo said. "What do you think Saggi?" he asked. After getting into a thinking pose and thinking about it intently, the only logical thing Saggi could think to do….was laugh insanely. "I think that's a yes," Raburo said sweat dropping. "Well, even though we're friends, I'm not going easy on you."

"Bring it," Mia said excitedly, her interest in the duel had returned.

"I'm going to activate Gift of the Martyr again, this time offering Saggi as the sacrifice in order to increase Raging Flame Sprite's attack power. Saggi noticed that it was glowing in white light and that it was disappearing from the feet up. After taking in what this meant, it did the only thing it apparently knew how to do, laugh insanely as it vanished. The Raging Flame Sprite sweat dropped as it began to gain power. (700/200) "Raging Flame Sprite, attack Mia directly!"

The Sprite sent a stream of fire at Mia and she covered herself as her Life Points fell. (4000) Raging Flame Sprite went back to Raburo's side of the field…laughing insanely. Mia stared at it wide eyed, "Please tell me that it's only a side effect of Gift of the Martyr and that it will wear off by the end of the turn."

"I sure hope so," Raburo said. "It's your turn either way." Gift of the Martyr's effect ran out but the pixie had an extra 1000 attack points either way. (1100/200)

"My move," Mia said drawing. "I activate Heavy Storm," she announced as a strong wind blew through the field. Raburo's hidden Sakuretsu Armor and his Gravity Bind were destroyed along with Mia's hidden Shadow Spell. Horus and Silent Swordsman stood up and stretched.

"This could be bad," Raburo said.

"You know it," Mia said smiling. Horus, attack Raging Flame Sprite! Black Flame!" Horus shot a stream of black fire at the sprite and destroyed her. "Now, Silent Swordsman LV5, attack Raburo directly!" The Swordsman jumped up and slashed Raburo down the middle causing him to be knocked backwards as his Life Points fell significantly. (3900) "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," he said standing up. "You can knock me down many times, but I'll always get right back up for you." He realized what he said and frowned, "Sorry, force of habit."

"Understandable," she said. "I end my turn and now Horus LV4 evolves!" The dragon began to grow larger and more impressive. (2300/1600)

Raburo drew his card and smirked, "This is what I planned on using on you earlier, and I'm going to use it." He set a card under the table and watched it appear before taking another card. "I summon another Servant of Catabolism. Direct Attack!" he announced.

The snail spit a burst of purple acid at Mia causing her to feel another burning sensation. (3300) "That gets annoying after a while," she said.

"I'm sure it does," he said waving his hand.

Mia drew her card and watched her Silent Swordsman evolve all the way up to Silent Swordsman LV7. (2800/1000) The fully grown, master swordsman stood on her side of the field and she smiled as the breeze caused its robes to flow out behind it. "Now, I summon this cute little friend, Silent Magician LV4," she said as the small, white robed magician with white hair appeared on the field. (1000/1000) "Silent Magician, attack the escargot!"

"Reverse trap, Ordeal of a Traveler!" Raburo watched as a giant stone sphinx appeared behind him, its eyes glowing bright red

"What does that do?" Mia asked worriedly.

"This handy little trap card makes you have to pick a card in my hand and guess whether it's a Spell, Trap, or Monster. If you guess it right, then your attack goes through, if you guess it wrong, the sphinx blocks your attack and knocks your monster back to your hand." He held up the two cards in his hand.

"I hate game shows for this very reason," Mia said looking at the two cards with semi-annoyance. "So, I have three choices to choose from, and but only two cards, and they could be all different cards or all the same." Mia looked annoyed again before pointing at the left and choosing monster. Raburo put his finger on his nose, "Oh wow, I was right!" Mia said excited.

"No, I just thought it'd be fun to tease you," he said flipping the card over to reveal another Ordeal of a Traveler. "And I was right, it was fun." He put it back in his hand and quickly mixed his hand up as the giant sphinx shot a beam of red energy at the Silent Magician causing it to disappear.

Mia took the card off the disk and put it back in her hand. "Fine, now I'll send Horus to attack and this time I'll choose Trap and it will be the card on the right."

"Ert, maybe next time," Raburo said revealing Negative Energy. He remixed up his hand and the sphinx shot another blast of energy at Horus sending it back to Mia's hand. "The only monster you have out now is your Swordsman, and if you guess wrong this time, you'll be defenseless."

"True, but now I know you hold a spell and a trap, so my chances of getting it right this time are a solid 50-50."

"Then by all means," Raburo said holding up his hand.

"Silent Swordsman LV7, attack Servant of Catabolism, the card on the right is a trap card!"

Raburo frowned as he revealed it to be Ordeal. The swordsman ran forward and slashed the snail in half destroying it and significantly dropping Raburo's Life Points. (1800) "I guess it worked out for you after all," he said.

"I guess so," she said. "I set two cards under the table and end my turn," she announced as the two cards appeared face down.

Raburo drew his card and immediately set it, "one under the table and that's all."

Mia began to draw the top card on her deck when she heard the familiar cry of Hane Kuriboh. She pulled the card and sure enough, it was him. "Hey there guy, good to see you," she said to the card.

"Who are you talking too?" Raburo asked.

Mia looked a tad embarrassed, "No one," she said. She didn't know how to tell Raburo about the Friendship Spirits. "I set one card on guard," she said as she placed Hane Kuriboh down. For some reason, she just couldn't really bring herself to call Hane Kuriboh a monster. "Now, Silent Swordsman LV7, attack with Silent Sword Slash!"

"First you have to guess my hand," he said holding up two cards.

"The right one is a Spell," she said. He turned the card over to reveal Negative Energy, "Alright! Silent Swordsman, finish him off!" The swordsman ran forward towards Raburo but he just smirked.

"I told you, I built this deck to defeat you, and you can't defeat me that easily." An energy net came across the field forcing Silent Swordsman to the ground.

Mia let out a growl, 'man, all these traps are killing me,' she thought to herself. Suddenly it dawned on her, and everything became clear for her. "The Fatal Weakness is Trap Cards!" she exclaimed.

Raburo looked a little surprised, but smiled none the less, "You got it," he said.

"It makes perfect sense now," she said. "Most of my monsters negate spell cards, but the only thing I could use to get rid of possible traps is Heavy Storm. Trap cards are usually tricky for any duelist, but my deck is exceptionally weak against them since I have pretty much _no _means of stopping them. Gravity Bind, Ordeal, all of them."

"That's right. You probably guessed while building your deck that since your deck is good against spells, you didn't need many spell and trap destruction, so you only put in Heavy Storm. However, it's like the King of Games said a long time ago, Trap Cards are some of the trickiest cards in the game. Without good Trap negation, a deck can fall into deep trouble."

"So when I go out to trade, I should look for cards to save my deck from traps. Thanks Raburo."

"You're welcome," he said blushing a little.

'Now that I know what my deck's weakness is, why don't I set a little trap of my own,' she thought to herself. "I set one card under the table and my turn is done," she said.

Raburo drew and summoned the card immediately, "I summon my second Android Psycho Shocker#7," he said as the monster appeared on the field once again. "Attack her Life Points directly!" Green energy shot out of the machine's eyes and Mia took the attack. (2800)

'It wasn't enough to bother setting off my card,' she thought to herself. 'I have to wait for just the right time.'

"My turn is done," he said.

"Then it's mine now," she said drawing. "I summon Silent Swordsman LV3," she said as her smaller swordsman took the field again. "Now I reverse my face down Hane Kuriboh" she said as the small furry angel with small white wings appeared on the field crying out cheerfully. (300/200) "Swordsman, attack Psycho Shocker#7. The card on the left is a Trap!" Raburo frowned and showed the Ordeal. The swordsman ran towards the machine and slashed it in half causing it to explode. (1300) "Hane Kuriboh, attack Raburo, I'm guessing Trap again but this time on the right card."

Raburo grinned this time and revealed Negative Energy as the sphinx blasted Hane Kuriboh back to Mia's hand. "Nice try, but you can't always get it," he snickered.

"I know," she said. "Silent Swordsman LV7, attack him with Silent Slash Attack! The left is a Spell!" Raburo flipped the card over and revealed Ordeal. The Sphinx blasted Silent Swordsman right back to Mia's hand. "I have to end," she said disappointed.

"My turn," he said drawing. "Just in time, I activate Pot of Greed," he said as he drew two cards. "Now I summon Saggi once more to the field," he said. Saggi appeared on the field, gave out a big stretch, and laughed insanely, just for the hell of it. "Now I activate Negative Energy," he said. As Saggi began to glow with power and get stronger, it decided that the joke was getting old and didn't do anything but look ready to bust some butt. (1200/1500) "Attack!" Raburo announced.

Saggi ran forward using speed that only evil clown powers could give you; and tried to attack Mia. Unfortunately for it, it re-experienced its past and began floating before being put on guard along with the Silent Swordsman.

"Just like before, Zero Gravity stops it in its tracks," Mia said. Saggi, always looking on the bright side of things, merely shrugged and gave out its longest insane laugh yet.

"I end my turn," Raburo said.

"Time to get things kicking into high gear," Mia said drawing. "As you know by now Silent Swordsman LV3 evolves into Silent Swordsman LV5," she announced as the small sword wielder got taller and older. (2300/1000) "Now I summon Hane Kuriboh," she said as her cute Kuriboh with wings appeared on the field. (300/200) She waved her hand to signal the end of her turn and Raburo drew his card.

"I set one card under the table and move Saggi to attack mode," he said as Saggi, the ever fun to make fun of clown, stood up. "Saggi, wipe out Hane Kuriboh!"

"Not so fast!" Mia called out. "You've fallen into _my _trap!"

Raburo looked worried, "crap," he muttered.

"Well, it's more of a quick play spell," she said as her card was revealed. "Given to me by my friend's sister, I hereby present to you, Wings of Evolution!"

"What does that do?" Raburo asked stunned. "I've never heard of that card."

"Wings of Evolution is a powerful card," Mia explained. "I have to discard two cards from my hand in order to make it do its stuff." She dropped two cards from her hand and watched as Hane Kuriboh began to glow. "I can now transform my Hane Kuriboh into a special kind of Kuriboh known as Hane Kuriboh LV10."

"Level 10!!" Raburo gasped.

Hane Kuriboh's wings transformed into two brilliant white wings while the rest of its body began to be covered by a golden dragon. It grew a tail and when it was finished, it looked no bigger, just a whole lot cooler. (300/200)

"I don't get it," Raburo finally said.

"Well, since you're in your battle phase, I can offer up Hane Kuriboh LV10 in order to destroy all monsters on your side of the field that are in attack mode and do damage to your Life Points equal to the original attack of all of them."

"No way!" Raburo gasped as he watched Hane Kuriboh LV10 glow and shoot out a burst of energy that struck Saggi sending it backwards, laughing insanely all the way until it was destroyed for good, never again this chapter to annoy us with its insane laughter.

Raburo shielded himself as his Life Points fell. (700) "I don't believe it," he said stunned.

"I guess that would be the end of your turn," she said. Raburo could only nod a little, but it was all Mia needed to draw her card. She scanned her hand but couldn't use anything in it, "I reverse my face down Reload," she said as the card flipped itself. She took her hand and shuffled it back into her deck and then redrew the same number of cards. "I summon Ultimate Insect LV3," she said as the insect appeared on the field. (1400/900) "Ultimate Insect, attack Raburo directly!"

Raburo, who had kind of recovered from the shock, began to counter, "My Ordeal is still out on the field, you have to guess the right card in my hand."

"I guess the card on the right is a spell card," she said determined. Raburo frowned and flipped the card over, it was Nobleman of Crossout. The insect slithered over to him and bit him on the leg depleting his Life Points." (0)

"You've been Leveled Up," she said smiling and giving off her peace sign as the holograms vanished. She remembered that she had said that the first time they dueled at the end, "You've been Leveled Up," she said trying it out again. "I like it! It's like a catch phrase or something." She then noticed Raburo was on his knees and she quickly ran over to him, "Sorry about that," she said helping him up.

"It's alright," he said looking down. "You truly are a good duelist; all you have to do is fix that weakness of yours."

"I will," she said smiling. "And I hope that you and I can continue to be friends," she said extending her hand.

"Yeah," he said slowly as he shook it.

"And don't worry," she began, causing him to look up at her, "I won't tell anyone about your creepy poem," she finished with a smile.

"Thanks," he said chuckling a little.

"So, do you want to hang out for a while?" she asked.

"No," he said quietly. "I would rather be alone right now."

Mia looked sad for a moment, "Oh, ok." She stared at him for a few seconds before smiling, "Well, take care of yourself."

"You too," he said.

She started to head off towards the Ra Yellow dormitory, "Oh, and thanks for helping me find out my deck's weakness," she said turning around waving.

"You're welcome," he said waving back at her. He watched as she walked off out of sight before he slowly cursed himself, "Damn, why did I tell her I wanted to be alone? I really wanted her to stay, but something stopped me…"

"Do you want her back?" a cold, sinister voice said behind him.

He felt a hand placed on his shoulder and it caused him a shiver. He turned around to see a man in a night black trench coat, and a black top hat that was pulled down so that his face was invisible. Most distinguishable was that this man's hand was purple and had long sharp nails.

"Who…who are you?" Raburo asked nervously, "and why is your hand purple?"

"I could ask why your hair is green," the man retorted, his voice still just as cold. "However, I won't, for unlike your hair, my hand is only painted."

Maybe it was too many horror movies, but Raburo just couldn't bring himself to believe the…man, for lack of better words, in front of him. "What do you want?" he asked nervously.

"It's not what I want," he replied, "it's what you want; and what you want is that girl right?"

"Mia is free to make her own choices," Raburo said hoping to discourage the person in front of him.

"It doesn't change the fact that you want her," the man said. Raburo couldn't help but realize that the man was right, even though Mia was going to be his friend, it wasn't enough; he still wanted her to be his. The man reached into the pocket on his coat and pulled out a folded piece of paper and put it out for Raburo to take. "If you truly want her to be yours, follow the instructions on this paper."

Raburo unfolded the paper and read the short note written, when he looked up though the man was gone.

* * *

"I give up," Fuuten said collapsing underneath a shaded tree. "There's no way in heck we're ever going to find…"

"Hi Fuuten," Mia said walking up from behind the tree.

"GAH!" Fuuten cried out falling over onto the ground.

Sonomi and Kokuro looked over to see their friend helping Fuuten up, "The invisible girl showeth herself," Kokuro said chuckling.

"What have you been up too?" Sonomi asked her.

"I just dueled Raburomansu Aijou, you know, that guy I met our first year here?"

Fuuten, Kokuro, and Sonomi just kind of stared at her, "you dueled Raburomansu?" they asked simultaneously.

"Um, yeah," she responded confused. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Kokuro said. "It's just that we were talking earlier about how you two first met."

"Oh," she said understanding.

"Sonomi told us he was a bit of a jerk," Fuuten said.

"He can be sweet," she said. "You just have to get to know him, that's all."

They all just kind of stared at her for a few seconds before Sonomi finally shrugged, "guess you know what you're talking about."

"Yup," Mia said smiling. Just then an announcement came over the entire island.

"_Duelist Academy Students, if you have not registered for "The Project," and you still wish to do so, there is still time. Registrations will stop being received in half an hour. Any student wanting to join who has not already registered, please come to the office and sign up. Thank you and have a good Card Trade Day."_

"The Registration!" Kokuro, Sonomi, and Fuuten cried out in surprise. "I forgot!" they said together.

"You have to hurry if you guys still want to register," Mia said to them.

"Agreed," Fuuten said as they began to run towards the main building.

As they were running Kokuro asked Mia, "Aren't you going to enter?"

"I have a deck to fix first," she said. "And besides, I wouldn't want to steal the spotlight from you three."

"Are you sure?" Fuuten asked running alongside of them.

"Positive," Mia said smiling and giving a peace sign.

* * *

The four made their way to the academies main building and headed towards the office. They reached the office just as an Obelisk Blue was walking out. Kokuro stopped suddenly when he looked up at the Obelisk's face, "Kazuki?" he asked.

The others stopped and saw that it was indeed Kazuki. "I take it you haven't registered yet," Kazuki said to Kokuro.

"Not yet," Kokuro admitted. "I've been kind of busy."

"However you do plan on registering right?"

"You better believe it!" Kokuro said punching his left palm with his fist.

"That's good; I look forward to facing you in the arena again."

"Same here," Kokuro said smiling.

"Best of luck to all of you," he said to the group as he walked off.

"I'll catch up with you three later," Mia said. "I need to talk to Kazuki."

"Alright, see you back at the dorm," Kokuro said.

"See ya," Sonomi said as the three entered.

* * *

Mia ran up to Kazuki, "Hey wait a second please," she called after him.

Kazuki stopped and turned around, "Do you need something Mia?" he asked.

"I just wanted to tell you that I figured out the fatal weakness of my deck. It's bad against trap cards."

Kazuki smiled, "I'm glad to see you figured it out then."

"Yeah, and I also wanted to thank you for not telling me. I'm glad I was able to figure it out by myself."

"I'm glad to hear it," he said. He pulled two cards out of his pocket, "I had these ready for you if you came to me to tell me you figured it out," he handed the cards to Mia. "Think of them as a congratulations present."

"I can't just take these," Mia said.

"Sure you can," he grinned, "it is Card Trade Day after all."

Mia smiled, "Alright, I get it, thank you."

"You're quite welcome," he said. "Have a good evening."

"You too," she said as he walked off.

* * *

Fuuten, Kokuro, and Sonomi exited the office, now officially registered, "Glad that got done," Kokuro said.

"Same," Fuuten agreed.

"You boys had just better not forget who the winner will be," Sonomi said.

"Bring it," Kokuro said as they looked through each others eyes, sizing each other up. "I'm not afraid of the big, bad, Sonomi."

"You should be," she retorted.

"It doesn't matter since my Kuriboh's and I will defeat you both," Fuuten said chuckling.

Kokuro and Sonomi just glanced at each other before turning to Fuuten. They smirked evilly, "And what if…" Sonomi began.

"The Kuriboh's guide us instead?" Kokuro finished.

Fuuten looked at the two in astonishment, "Never!"

They all laughed before heading out of the building towards the Ra Dorm.

A man in a trench coat and a top hat stepped out of the shadows after the three had left the office. He smirked at them before heading into the office.


	25. Project Start! The Creepy Clown Duelist!

A brief foreword:

Sdrive: Here we are, the beginning of The Project, the Academy Duel Tournament! This is an academy wide duel tournament where anyone can enter, as long as they are students or staff that doesn't have other responsibilities. So far we've seen at least Kokuro, Sonomi, Fuuten and Kazuki enter. Who else might be in this tournament? You'll have to read and find out. But keep watching closely; you never know what _else _you might discover during this tournament.

* * *

Mia was looking at the Trap Jammer and Seven Tools of the Bandit that she had received from Kazuki. She had decided to take out the two Flying Kamikiris to make room for them. Looking over her deck contently she pulled out her set of Silent Swordsmen. She smiled while she looked at them; they were no doubt her favorite cards. They reminded her of her father. Mia heard the door beep and looked up to watch Sonomi and Kokuro enter the room.

"Hey guys!" she said cheerfully. "Why isn't Fuuten with you?"

"Fuuten realized that he had stayed from the Card Shop too long and ran off to go help Setsuna," Kokuro explained.

"Oh," Mia simply said smiling.

"Before I forget again," Kokuro said walking over to her. Mia looked up at him curious as he reached into his binder and pulled out a card handing it to her. "I won this for you in a Double Duel with Sonomi earlier today."

"Ultimate Insect LV7!" she squealed with delight. She jumped up and grabbed Kokuro in a giant bear hug, squeezing him until he couldn't breathe any longer. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"You're…welcome…" he managed to gasp out.

"Oops, sorry," she said releasing him. He collapsed onto the floor, "think I overdid it?" she asked Sonomi.

"Maybe only a little," she responded looking at the unconscious Kokuro.

* * *

It was a little later in the day, Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia were all going over their decks, fixing them up and preparing them to their liking. Mia really didn't have to do anything since she wasn't participating, but she had to find room for her new Level Monster.

Kokuro smiled as he pulled Archfiend Soldier out of his deck and replaced it with Skilled Black Magician. He sighed contently, glad that the fiend was finally out of the deck. He spread out his cards onto his bed and looked them over. He then pulled out his side deck and went through it, after a few minutes of rearranging things he finally put the cards back together and shuffled them momentarily before inserting them back in his deck box.

Sonomi was making quite a few changes to her deck as she had hers sprawled out over the desk. She was taking cards out, and replacing them with others at a high pace. Occasionally she'd take a card from the pile she had taken from her deck and would put it back in taking out another card. She put in her UFO Turtles and looked at the very small pile holding her spells. After removing all but one, she added other cards to her monster and trap piles.

Mia was going through her binder and was looking at her spells when she stopped and looked at one of them contently. "Hey Sonomi," she said.

"Hmm?" came Sonomi's almost inaudible response.

"Didn't you say you got those UFO Turtles you needed?" she asked.

"Mmhmm," came yet another barely audible response.

Mia took the spell out of her binder and walked over to Sonomi and put it down on her desk. Sonomi's eyes barely glanced over at it but then she took it and began reading it. "I know your deck doesn't really work well with spells, but I figured that card could actually help you."

Sonomi finished reading the card text and looked throughout her piles, she took a trap from her deck and put it off to the side and put the new spell on top of the only other spell in her deck. "Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome," Mia said smiling.

Kokuro's PDA went off and he grabbed it and turned it on.

_Kokuro, out in Hitoku's shop if you wanna come. If not I understand._

_Yaku_

"I'm off to Hitoku's shop," Kokuro said climbing off the ladder and heading to the door.

"Have fun," Mia said.

"See ya," Sonomi said, not looking up from her cards.

* * *

Kokuro made his way to Hitoku's shop and when he walked in, he was startled to see the familiar batch of faces there. Yaku and Hitoku of course, but among them were also Kazuki, Kahou, Fuuten and Jordan. "What a surprise," he said looking over the group.

"We're having a 'Before "The Project" Party,'" Yaku explained. "It's a tradition between Kazuki and me to grab our male friends who are participating, and come here to have pizza, chips and soda."

"I see," Kokuro said as he looked over to Kahou and saw that he was wearing a sticker that said "Hi, My Name Is…" and then written below that was 'Kahou.' "What's with the name tag?" Kokuro asked.

"I put it on especially for you," he said laughing.

"Jerk," Kokuro said smiling.

"Isn't this great?" Yaku asked. "Just a couple of men hanging out while being surrounded by power tools and dangerous equipment," he then let out a laugh similar to Tim Allen's.

"More power!" Jordan agreed giving off a similar laugh.

Kokuro couldn't help but laugh, as he walked over to pour himself a cup of soda, and took a paper plate, grabbing a handful of chips, and putting it on. "Not going to have any Pizza?" Kazuki asked.

"Not a huge fan actually," Kokuro said giving off a nervous smile.

"Blasphemy!" Yaku shouted.

"Great," Kokuro mumbled.

Yaku went over and patted him on the back, "I'm just messing with you."

"So, you're all participating?" Kokuro asked as he ate a couple of chips.

"Of course," Kazuki said.

"I'm hoping that it will help me out," Jordan said nervously.

"I'm going to show everyone that time_ is_ relevant," Kahou said smiling proudly.

"And I'm doing it because if I don't I wouldn't have been allowed to come to the party," Yaku said laughing, causing the others to join in with him.

* * *

It was early evening at the Osiris Red Dorm. A certain room, like usual, had its curtain closed. Inside of Ritsuzen's room, Kyusai-sensei was running around like a bandit with a vacuum cleaner in one hand, a feather duster in the other, and an apron on.

Ritsuzen looked up from the book he was reading and glared at Kyusai-sensei. "Will you turn that damn thing off so I can concentrate?" he asked.

"If anything you should be helping me," Kyusai-sensei said after turning it off and freeing up his other hand only for it to grab an air freshener bottle on the nightstand and begin spraying it. "You know good and darn well that Master Kaiba is coming here tonight to speak with us, this place needs to be spotless!"

"You over obsess," Ritsuzen said going back to his book, but soon found the air freshener too strong for his tastes. "Stop spraying that damn thing or I'll spray it in your face," he threatened.

"Well excuse me if I'm trying to get you in good with Master Kaiba," Kyusai-sensei shot back.

"You know damn well this won't fool him; he'll easily figure out it was you. Why don't you stop this pitiful room cleaning and just wait for him to get here."

"There's no time to stop this…" and then there was a knock on the door. "Oh crap!" Ritsuzen couldn't help but smirk as he got up and walked over to the door, "don't you dare open that door Ritsuzen!"

Smirking sinisterly at Kyusai-sensei, Ritsuzen swung the door open, "Kaiba," he said to the CEO of KaibaCorp. "So good to see you, please, come in," he said motioning him in.

"You're in an unusually good mood," Kaiba said staring at the boy as he walked in. Smelling the over use of air freshener he looked around and saw Kyusai-sensei struggling, trying to get his apron off.

Kyusai-sensei noticed Kaiba and instantly stopped struggling, "Um, Master Kaiba, greetings."

"Enjoying yourself?" Kaiba asked the poor man.

"Not entirely," Kyusai-sensei said glaring at Ritsuzen who merely smirked and sat back down in his chair.

"Please, have a seat Kaiba," Ritsuzen said motioning to a chair.

"You should be showing respect to Master Kaiba," Kyusai-sensei said angrily.

"You should listen to your tutor," Kaiba said taking a seat and staring at Ritsuzen.

"Have I ever?" he replied simply.

"No, but that is neither here nor there," Kaiba said. "The reason I've decided to come here this evening is to offer you a proposition."

"I'm listening," Ritsuzen said.

"As you know I can easily get you into The Project, even though it's past the registration time. I would like you to join, and if you do well enough, I'll boost your ranking."

Ritsuzen just stared at him for a few seconds before replying, "And what if I don't do well enough?"

"You would simply stay here in Osiris Red. But I know you; you want out of here, and I can help you get out."

Ritsuzen stared at Kaiba for a few moments while he thought about it. "No," he finally said.

Kaiba and Kyusai-sensei's eyes both raised, "No?" Kaiba asked.

"There's more to this isn't there?" Ritsuzen asked calmly. "You want me to join, because you want me to waste my time being civil with the other students. Thanks, but with midterms coming up, I'll just wait until then. I'll pass both portions of my midterms with ease and be raised to a higher position."

"Do you realize exactly how good of a deal this is for you?" Kaiba asked him.

"Do you realize exactly how much I don't care?" Ritsuzen retorted.

Kaiba glared at him for a moment before smirking, "I get it now."

"Good," Ritsuzen said.

"You're worried that you'll be paired up with Kokuro, or worse Kazuki, and that you'll be beaten for the third time at this school."

Ritsuzen glared death daggers at Kaiba, "Let me make this perfectly clear for you, I am in no way scared of those two. Especially not that Ra. You and I both know that imprudent fool only defeated me out of shear luck both times."

Kaiba stared at Ritsuzen for a moment before sighing and standing up, "Fine, I can see there is no changing your mind. It's your loss though," he said walking out the door.

"You really blew it," Kyusai-sensei said to him.

"Do me a favor and shut up," Ritsuzen said coldly.

Outside of the door Kaiba was swearing to himself, "now I have to find some other way to take care of this situation," he mumbled as he walked off towards the main building.

* * *

Kokuro walked through the door of his dorm room at 9:00, looking around he saw Mia on the computer. "Where's So…" Mia quickly hushed him and pointed to Sonomi's bed. Kokuro looked up and saw that she was already asleep. "What's she doing asleep already?" he whispered.

"She wanted to make sure she was rested for 'The Project'," Mia whispered back.

Kokuro nodded and looked around momentarily noticing an envelope on the desk next to her. "A love letter?" Kokuro asked jokingly.

"Possibly," she replied. "It's for you."

"Me?" Kokuro asked curiously. He walked over and found the letter and couldn't help but smile when he saw the return address. He opened it and read the letter.

_Dear Kokuro,_

_I hope this letter will get to you on time._

_Whew! I've had a busy couple of weeks. Domid and Yamato tried their best to get me qualified for the regional tournament. They even went so far as to give me a couple of new cards for my deck. What are they you ask? Well, you'll find out, because I qualified! I'm going to the regional tournament! I hope you guys get cable up there, because they'll be broadcasting the matches! You're going to see me on T.V! I can't wait._

_Well, I told dad that Mia is taken. He seemed upset, until I mentioned Sonomi that is. Speaking of which, I'm glad you guys are friends now. Domid's wondering how lucky can you get. It definitely seems like you're having a lot of fun up there, except for Ritsuzen. Hopefully your duel straightened him out. And congrats on winning a new Black Magician! You must've dueled hard for it._

_My classes have been going well, but Domid still enjoys helping me with my math of course. I think it's scary how a guy can like math so much. Oh well. I made a couple of new friends at the card shop. The first one is Hinta. She uses Ojama cards, and she almost got me. The second is Kida. He uses fusion monsters, and he was no pushover either. I almost felt bad beating them, until they won the wild card drawing so now they're qualified as well! _

_Speaking of dueling, Domid and Yamato are going to train me some more, so wish me luck! Everyone here is still proud of you, and I'm sure that you're doing a great job in your classes. I love you and miss you. Hope you're doing well!_

_Love, Selaya._

Kokuro couldn't help but smile, 'Glad to hear you're doing so well Selaya,' he thought to himself. He closed the letter and put it back in the envelope. "I'm going to go to bed," he told Mia.

"G'night," she replied smiling.

"Good night," he said. He switched into his pajamas in the bathroom and hopped up onto his bed. He closed the curtain and put his hands behind his head. "Tomorrow is the day of the big tournament," he said to himself excitedly. Just then he noticed an envelope taped up against his wall. "Wonder what this is," he thought out loud as he took it and opened it. He pulled out a note and read it quickly. Five minutes later he was putting the letter back and put his head on his pillow. Thoughts filled his head as he drifted off into a deep sleep.

* * *

"_ATTENTION STUDENTS!"_

The eruption of noise jolted Kokuro awake, causing him to bang his head on the bed above him and then lose his balance and cause him to fall out of the bed and land on the floor.

"_This is the big Duel Academy Project Day. All participants are to report to the Obelisk Blue Arena for the beginning ceremony starting in 20 minutes. You are expected to be there on time."_

"Ow….pain…" Kokuro whined as he saw Mia looking at him upside down. It soon dawned that he was looking at her upside down. He watched her hand reach down towards his own as she helped him up.

"Are you ok?" she asked him worried. He just kind of stared at her and she frowned, "sorry, standard question."

"I'll be fine," he said, and then as an afterthought, "I think."

"You have to hurry up and get ready; you and Sonomi have to be there in 20 minutes!"

"So I heard. Why didn't anyone wake me up?"

"We figured you couldn't be dumb enough to not set your alarm," Sonomi replied coming up to him with his uniform. "As much as I'd like to see you in a skirt, there's no time to mess around."

"Thanks," he said as he took it and went into the bathroom. After a couple of seconds they both heard a loud, "hey wait a minute!"

"Oh just get dressed," Sonomi said as she gave Mia a low five.

He walked out fully clothed and Mia tossed his belt and deck box to him, "we have to get going," she said.

"Right," he agreed as he put on his belt, "Let's go!"

They ran out of their room and headed off towards the Obelisk Blue Arena. "This is going to be so much fun," Kokuro said as they ran.

"I'll be rooting for both of you," Mia said smiling.

"Thanks," he said back to her. They got to where they had to part ways; Mia took the left down towards the audience seats while Sonomi and Kokuro went to the right towards the entrance to the Duel Arena. "Ladies first," he said and allowed Sonomi to walk in front of him.

He stepped in and was surprised to see the number of students standing on the arena. Half on one side, half on the other. There had to be about 100 students on the arena, and more were coming up. There were also some teachers within the groups. Standing in the very center, holding a microphone, Seto Kaiba was checking his watch. As soon as it hit 9:00 he began his speech.

"Students and Faculty, I bring before you the students of our school, the very ones who are here on this arena, who are brave enough to face off against one another in the academy Project. In this tournament, there is no discrimination against ranks. Obelisks will fight Ra's and Osiris' while Osiris' and Ra's fight each other. In this tournament its pretty much anything goes, as long as the regular rules are kept. These students are the warriors of the future, and I can foresee many of them going off to become great duelists once they leave this academy. This tournament helps test their true readiness, especially the Obelisks who will be leaving at the end of the year. I wish all of them luck, and hope to see excellent strategies being used out here today. The first duels will start at 9:30. There will be a special breakfast held in the cafeteria for all participants. Afterwards all participants are to report to the Examination Arena for the first round. Dismissed."

Everyone applauded as Kaiba walked off the stage and handed the mike to one of his assistants. The students began to file out of the room and the participants made their way down to their assigned cafeterias. They all grabbed a meal and found various places to sit and waited for the time to roll past when they would have to leave for the arena.

Sonomi watched Kokuro as he chewed on a bagel, "Happy now that you have some breakfast in you?" she asked.

"Mmhmm," he responded.

"Mind if I sit here?" a familiar voice behind Sonomi asked. They looked at the person startled.

"Mia?" Sonomi asked. "What are you doing here? This breakfast is only for participants."

She sat down next to Sonomi and shrugged, "I'm like Silent Swordsman and Silent Magician."

Kokuro swallowed and looked at her, "You're silent?"

"That's right," she said smiling and giving him a peace sign.

"You could get in deep trouble if they found you in here," Sonomi told her.

"Not really," Mia said. "It's not like they are keeping track of who's a participant and who isn't. There are tons of kids in here who aren't part of 'The Project'. Some come to steal food while others are just wishing their friends luck before their first duels.

"And you came to wish us luck," Kokuro said, "how nice."

"Actually…" she said sheepishly as she pulled the bagel off Sonomi's plate, "I came for both."

"If you value your hand you'll drop that bagel," Sonomi said staring at Mia.

Mia just giggled and put it back, "I'm only teasing."

"Damn right you are," Sonomi said snatching up the bagel and taking a bite out of it.

"Kokuro, Sonomi's being mean to me again," Mia said looking innocently up at Kokuro. Sighing he split his bagel in half and handed half to her. She smiled, "Thanks," she said sheepishly as she took a bite.

"Uh huh," he said annoyed as he took a bite of his own half.

"You didn't have to do that," Mia told him.

He swallowed and grumbled, "I know, but you've already bitten into it." Mia laughed as Kokuro took another bite.

* * *

The students were herded out of the cafeterias and directed to the Examination Arena. As they got towards the arena Mia gave both of them a quick hug, "good luck you guys."

"Thanks," they responded. She left them and they looked at each other for a moment.

"Well," Sonomi began. "Time to kick butt…"

"…and take names," Kokuro finished.

"I'm going to the top," they said in unison.

"You have to get past me first," Sonomi grinned.

"And I'm sure you'll put up a good fight," he said extending his hand. She shook and they headed into the room. Kokuro glanced at the paper to find his name. He was in Arena 5 so he headed off while Sonomi headed off to Arena 1.

Kokuro got to his arena and noticed his opponent immediately; it would be hard to miss this guy unless it was at night. He was wearing a black trench coat and a top hat hid his face, his hands were in his pocket and a black academy Duel Disk rested on his left arm.

"Um…are you my opponent?" Kokuro asked nervously.

"I am," came the cold and sinister voice.

"Um…do you have a name?" he asked.

"They call me…Peaches," he said as he looked up. He had a purple face with sinister looking yellow eyes. His mouth opened when he grinned and Kokuro noticed sharp looking teeth.

"Um…nice costume," Kokuro said a little scared by his opponent. 'At least I hope it's a costume,' Kokuro thought to himself.

"Why thank you," came the cold reply.

Kokuro let out a sigh of relief, 'phew, so it is only a costume. He sure had me fooled, especially with the way he can make his voice get so low and sinister sounding.'

* * *

Up in the secret viewing room, high above the stands, Kaiba was watching everything from a birds eye view. He watched the stranger who seemed to be Kokuro's opponent, "I want information on that guy," he said to one of the girls sitting at a computer next to him.

"Yes Mr. Kaiba," the girl said. She pulled up the info, "It says here that he was registered as…Peaches?"

"There should be a real name there somewhere; I want when he was registered, what dorm he's in, and his true name. No one's going to make a mockery of this tournament."

She looked quickly before getting worried, "All it says is that his dorm is registered as secret. He was registered just as they were about to stop receiving participants, and as for a name, all I can find is Peaches."

"That can't be right," Kaiba said annoyed. "Even if this is some kind of practical joke, it would not have been allowed without a certified name and dorm first. Get me the secretary who took this man in. I want to speak to her immediately."

"Yes Mr. Kaiba."

'This is bad,' Kaiba thought to himself.

* * *

Down on arena five, Kokuro had taken out his deck, shuffled and inserted it causing his Duel Disk to fold out. Peaches pulled his hand out of his pocket and revealed a deck, this also revealed that like his face, Peaches hand was purple and that he had excessively long fingernails. Kokuro gulped quickly as the strange man shuffled quickly and inserted his deck, causing his black Duel Disk to fold out. The time on the screen in back of the audience members turned from 9:29 to 9:30.

'_Begin The Project!' _The announcer cried out.

"Duel!" Kokuro and Peaches called out.

"I shall go first," Peaches said drawing his sixth card. After looking over his hand he took a card and set it on the Duel Disk, "I summon Mystic Clown," came the cold voice as a one eyed clown appeared on the field. It had green hands, purple clothes with eyes painted all over it, and a fancy yellow headpiece. (1500/1000) "I'll set one card under the table," he stated as the brown backed card appeared. "You may take your turn now."

Kokuro drew his card and looked at the odd monster in front of him. 'Mystic Clown is a really old card that I've rarely ever seen used,' he thought to himself. 'No one even used it back when it was new; I can't think of any good reason for playing it other than leading the opponent into a false sense of security.'

Up in the stands Mia was watching Kokuro's duel; she planned on alternating between Kokuro and Sonomi and had flipped a coin to decide whose she'd watch first. "What a strange monster," she said looking at the clown facing Kokuro.

"It is," came Kazuki's voice from behind her.

"Kazuki, what are you doing here?" Mia asked startled.

"I'm not dueling until the second round," he said. "And I'm kind of glad now, this looks like it might be an interesting duel if nothing else."

"Yeah really," Mia nodded in agreement.

"To begin my turn I'll summon Skilled White Magician," Kokuro announced as his mage in white robes appeared on the field, carrying its silver staff in its hand. (1700/1900) "Skilled White Magician, attack that creepy clown!" Kokuro announced. The Magician released a beam of white light that hit the clown destroying it.

"Hehehe, interesting move," Peaches said as his Life Points lowered. (7700)

"I'll set one card under the table," Kokuro announced as his face down card appeared. "It's your turn now."

"Excellent," Peaches said in a voice that made Kokuro's spine shiver. "I'll summon a new performer, Ryu-Kishin Clown." A fat purple skinned clown wearing a blue and red striped shirt, black sleeves, and orange gloves appeared on the field, its purple, demonic wings spread out behind it. (800/500)

"Great," Kokuro said annoyed, "more clowns."

"And this one has a very special ability," Peaches said chuckling. "When my friend here is summoned he can switch one monster on your side of the field on guard."

Kokuro watched as the clown's hands began to glow purple and Skilled White Magician was put on guard. "Now you'll have an even tougher time beating it," he commented. "Its defense is higher than its own attack."

"Actually, by moving it on guard, I can now wipe it out," Peaches said as his face down card reversed itself. "Reveal Tragedy."

"And what does that do?" Kokuro asked staring at the card. It depicted a woman holding her arms up in front of her, a frightened look on her face.

"An interesting play," Kazuki commented from the sidelines.

"Hmm?" Mia wondered. "What makes it so interesting?"

"It's not necessarily the play itself, but the strategy behind it."

"I don't get it," Mia said watching the duel.

"You will soon enough," Kazuki said while he watched on.

"Tragedy is a very…tragic card," Peaches said chuckling. "Tragic for you anyway, and a personal favorite of mine. You see, when one of your monsters is put on guard, Tragedy is activated and it will wipe out all of your guarding monsters."

"But that means…" Kokuro began as he watched his Skilled White Magician blow to pieces.

"Oh what fun," Peaches said smiling. "But I like to share the fun, with my friends anyway. Ryu-Kishin Clown attack!"

The clown fired a beam of purple magic at Kokuro causing him to give off a small grunt. (7200) "Are you done yet?" Kokuro asked.

"Quite," Peaches replied.

"Good," Kokuro said as he drew his card. Scanning his hand he frowned, 'I've only got one monster that can get rid of that clown right now,' he thought to himself. "I summon Fire Princess," he announced as the red robed Pyro appeared on the field with her brown staff in her hand. (1300/1500) "Fire Princess, destroy that clown!" The Fire Princess raised her staff and fired a stream of fire at the clown and blew it to pieces.

"Easy come easy go," Peaches said as his Life Points lowered. (7200)

"You call your monsters your friends…even if they are creepy, and yet you disrespect them," Kokuro said disgusted.

"I've watched many people go," he grinned, showing off his sharp teeth.

"That's just disgusting," Kokuro grimaced. "Take your turn you freak."

"Gladly," he said drawing. His grin returned and he began to snicker sinisterly. "I set one card under the table," he said as his face down card appeared. "And now I summon Clown Zombie," he said as a fat, decaying zombie with a scythe and balancing on a circus ball appeared on the field. (1350/0)

Kokuro growled when he noticed that Peaches' monster was only 50 points stronger than his Princess.

* * *

Up in the secret viewing room the secretary that had registered Peaches walked into the room, "Here she is," the girl who was at the computer said as she brought in the secretary.

"Thanks," Kaiba said as they walked over to the computer which Kaiba was currently sitting at. "I need you to identify this man," Kaiba said to the secretary pointing at the readout on the computer.

She looked down at the screen and looked a little confused, "I believe that is the guy I registered yesterday," she said. "Peaches he said his name was."

"What was his real name?" Kaiba asked.

"He said that was his real name," she said.

"That's not possible," he said annoyed. "Who has such a stupid name like Peaches?"

"I don't know sir," she replied.

"What exactly happened when you registered him?" Kaiba asked.

"It's kind of blurry," she said trying to remember. "I really only remember when he first came in. I remember asking some questions and it seemed that he was getting annoyed with me…after that I don't really remember anything." She began to do something even Kaiba couldn't have predicted, she began to cry.

"What's wrong?" he asked stunned.

"I don't want to be fired, I like working here, I like the kids, and I don't want anything to happen because I can't remember what happened."

Kaiba let out a slight sigh of relief, he had thought something had happened between her and this man for a moment. "You won't get fired," Kaiba reassured her. "Go on back to your position."

She wiped the tears away and stood up, "thank you Mr. Kaiba." She walked out with the help of the computer girl as Kaiba went back to the watch the duel between Kokuro and the stranger.

"Be careful kid."

* * *

"Clown Zombie, wipe out Fire Princess with your Bouncing Ball Scythe!" Peaches called out. The Clown began bouncing on the ball towards Fire Princess and slashed its scythe across her destroying her.

Kokuro glared at Peaches as his Life Points barely dropped. (7150) "Are you finished yet?" he said under gritted teeth.

"For now," Peaches said.

Kokuro was still growling as he drew his card. "Kokuro is unusually upset," Kazuki pointed out. "I can understand not wanting to see your monsters destroyed, but this is a new extreme for him."

"I think it's half because he's losing to a bunch of clowns," Mia said. "That's not only embarrassing but I think he hate's clowns."

"That would certainly explain it," Kazuki said as he watched.

"I summon Skilled Black Magician!" Kokuro announced as his black robed magician appeared on the field with his silver staff being held in his right hand. "Wipe out that clown!" he announced. The magician let loose a beam of black magic that struck the clown knocking it off its ball destroying it. Kokuro grinned as Peaches' Life Points fell lower than his. (6550) "Your move," he said grinning.

"At your End Phase I activate my set card, Labyrinth of Nightmare!" he announced as his face down card flipped.

"And just what does that do?" Kokuro asked.

"During each of our end phases, whosever turn it just was, all their face up monsters have to switch their battle positions. So that means that your Skilled Black Magician goes on guard."

"Fine," Kokuro said as he shifted the card on his disk and his magician took a guarding position and its card appeared under it.

Peaches drew his card and looked down at it and smirked. 'Later,' he thought as he put it in his hand. "I set one monster on guard," he said as the face down card appeared. "And now I activate Book of Taiyou." A blue book with Egyptian carvings appeared on the field and began to give off a soft light. "This allows me to flip one monster on the field face down into face up attack mode, so I choose my face down monster!" A monster that looked similar to Clown Zombie minus the decaying aspect appeared on the field. (1350/1400) "Meet Crass Clown! Now watch as his Special Ability activates. Because my monster was switched from guarding position to attack, he can now return your monster to your hand!"

Mia gasped and Kokuro's eyes widened as they watched the clowns scythe glowed blue. Skilled Black Magician also began to glow blue and it vanished from the field and the card appeared in Kokuro's hand.

"My turn is done and my Labyrinth now forces my friend on guard," Peaches said as his clown put his scythe in front of itself and its card appeared underneath it. 'I could have attacked him, but I want to see just how good he is at getting out of bad situations.'

"Although I hate to admit it," Kazuki began, "This deck strategy is good."

"It sure seems like it," Mia said worriedly.

"It's a good thing it seems semi-incomplete," Kazuki said.

"What makes you say that?" Mia asked.

"There are cards that his deck could do use to make it better, but perhaps he just hasn't pulled them yet." They continued to watch on as Kokuro drew his card.

"I set one card under the table," Kokuro said as the face down card appeared. "Now I re-summon Skilled Black Magician and have it wipe out that clown." The Magician appeared on the field once again and then let out a blast of magic that once again knocked the ball bearing clown off of its circus toy destroying it. "Your move," he said as Skilled Black Magician went on guard again.

Peaches pulled his card from his deck and immediately played it down, "I set one monster on guard, and I activate Swords of Concealing Light!" Peaches announced as dark swords with skulls on them fell down from the sky around Kokuro. His Skilled Black Magician suddenly vanished and the card changed from Skilled Black's picture to the backing.

"What happened?" Kokuro asked.

"My Swords of Concealing light have flipped your monster face down, and it must stay like that until my swords wear off after your second end phase," Peaches explained.

"Damn," Kokuro muttered.

"You may begin your turn," Peaches said.

Kokuro drew his card and looked at the Chaos Sorcerer he had drawn. He put it in his hand and took the Old Vindictive Magician he had put his Chaos Sorcerer next to and set it. "One monster on guard and that ends my turn," he announced.

Peaches drew his card and saw that it was Revive Dead. "I activate Revive Dead, and I use it to summon my Crass Clown," he said as the monster reappeared on the field on guard. (1350/1400) "Now I flip my face down Dream Clown," he said as yet another clown appeared on the field however this one was dressed in pajamas. (1200/900)

'I guess that one isn't _as_ creepy,' Kokuro thought to himself.

"Glad you agree," Peaches said taking another card from his hand.

"What!" Kokuro said stunned. 'Did I say that out loud?' Kokuro asked in his head. 'No, I'm pretty sure I didn't…then again that's the only way he could have responded.' Kokuro just kind of watched Peaches as he continued his turn.

"I now end my turn and that means my Labyrinth takes effect once more. Now my Dream Clown goes on guard and my Crass Clown goes to attack. When my Dream Clown goes on guard it can automatically destroy one monster on your side of the field. So your face down Skilled Black Magician is destroyed!"

Kokuro glared as he watched the clown's hands glow sky blue and the brown backed card blew to pieces. 'This is not good,' Kokuro thought.

"And now my Crass Clown will return your face down monster to your hand." The other clown's scythe glowed dark blue once more and the face down card disappeared and once again reappeared in Kokuro's hand.

Kokuro drew his card and looked down at it, "I summon White Magician Pikeru," he said as his small white robed magician girl appeared on the field with a twirl. (1200/0) "I end my turn." Pikeru kneeled down and her card appeared underneath her.

Peaches drew his card and added it to his hand. "I switch Dream Clown to attack mode," he announced as the clown switched its battle position. "Now I activate another special card," he said as he slid it into the Duel Disk. "I activate Clown Car."

"Clown Car?" Kokuro asked as he raised an eyebrow. Suddenly a small, painted car came driving onto the arena and parked behind the two clowns.

"Yes, this card can only be activated if there is a monster on the field with Clown in its name," Peaches explained.

"And just what does this card do?" Kokuro asked.

"You'll find out later when the time is right," Peaches said grinning. "For now I'll set one monster on guard and have my Crass Clown attack your _little girl,_" he said sinisterly when he mentioned Pikeru. The Clown began to run on its ball causing the ball to spin underneath it and go towards Pikeru.

"Reverse Magic Cylinder!" Kokuro called out. The two cylinders appeared on the field and he watched as Crass Clown rolled into one and then rolled out to the other and slashed Peaches across the chest. "How was that?" Kokuro asked grinning.

Peaches let out a minor growl but stood up straight as his Life Points fell. (5300) "Nothing too impressive," Peaches said shrugging it off. "My turn is done," Peaches announced as both of his clowns went on guard. Dream Clown's hands glowed sky blue again causing Pikeru to glow sky blue briefly before she was destroyed.

'This is getting bad,' Kokuro thought. 'I'm way ahead in Life Points but I can barely do anything against him.' He pulled his card and saw that he had drawn Spell Absorption. He couldn't help but smile, 'Selaya, you've always been there for me whenever I was troubled, thanks for being here for me now.' "I activate Spell Absorption," he said as he slid the card into his Duel Disk and it appeared on the field. He took the Old Mage from earlier and set it on the field, "One monster on guard and that ends my turn."

Suddenly the door to the Clown Car opened and a tall clown dressed in green pants, a rainbow shirt with red overalls, blue gloves, a white face with sinister markings on it, and two, cone shaped red hair columns sticking out on the left and right of its head stepped out of the car. (1000/1000)

"As you may have noticed, at each of your end phases, my Clown Car will produce a Clown Token on my side of the field. At my end phase though my Clown Token will be destroyed."

"Must be scared of all this wide space," Kokuro said annoyed.

"Who knows," Peaches said shrugging as he drew his card. "I set one card under the table," he said as the face down card appeared. "Now I switch my Dream Clown to attack and activate Ectoplasmer!"

Kokuro smiled as his Life Points rose. (7650) "Let me guess, you'll be sacrificing your Clown Tokens to do a steady 500 points of damage to my Life Points at the end of each turn while you stop me from doing anything else with your two clowns, right?"

"You catch on quickly," Peaches said chuckling. "So, let's cut to the chase, I end my turn and offer up my Clown Token as a sacrifice to Ectoplasmer!" The clown began to glow and the glow left its body and went into the Ectoplasmer Card. The glow shot out of the card and headed straight for Kokuro where it was suddenly stopped by a ruin circle that appeared underneath Kokuro.

"Pikeru may be gone but her Enchanted Circle decided to stick around," Kokuro said grinning.

"Way to go Kokuro!" Mia called out to him.

"It was only a little bit of life anyway, nothing to worry about. In any case Dream Clown goes on guard while Crass Clown goes to attack; and that means that Dream Clown will wipe out your face down monster." One hand glowing later and the Old Vindictive Magician was blown to pieces.

"It looks like Kokuro's small advantage didn't really matter since he still lost a monster," Kazuki pointed out.

"Don't give up!" Mia called out.

Kokuro drew his card and smirked, "Pot of Greed," he said as he drew two new cards and his Life Points rose. (8150) "Now I activate Cost Down," Kokuro called out. (8650)

"Cost Down?" Mia asked. "When did he get that?"

Kokuro thought back to earlier the other night.

_He pulled out a note and read it quickly._

"_Dear Kokuro, I felt I owed you for the UFO Turtles earlier, consider this a small thank you. –Sonomi"_

_He smiled as he pulled out a Cost Down from the envelope. He took out his deck and exchanged his Tribute Doll for Cost Down. He put the Tribute Doll in the envelope and taped it back on the wall._

'Thanks Sonomi,' Kokuro thought to himself. "Here's how this card works," he said returning to the duel. "I discard one card from my hand and then all monsters in my hand are reduced by two levels. So I'll discard Apprentice Magician and now I can normal summon Chaos Command Magician without a sacrifice." The green robed magician appeared on the field and twirled his staff in his hand. (2400/1900) "Now I'll remove Apprentice Magician and Skilled White Magician from play in order to special summon Chaos Sorcerer," he announced as the purple skinned magician with the black flowing cloak appeared on the field. (2300/2000)

"Looks like Kokuro just took the lead again," Mia said happily.

"He's had the lead in terms of Life Points," Kazuki said. "But as for a strategy, Peaches has been better at keeping Kokuro at bay."

"Chaos Sorcerer, remove Dream Clown from play!" he announced as the sorcerer's hands glowed purple and a purple bubble appeared around the clown and trapped it as they both disappeared. "Chaos Command Magician, attack Crass Clown!" The Magician fired a beam of rainbow energy that struck the other clown and destroyed it.

Peaches shielded himself as his Life Points lowered. (4250) "This is getting troubling," he admitted.

"Now, I end my turn, and Ectoplasmer forces me to send one monster to the graveyard, so I'll choose Chaos Sorcerer since Chaos Command Magician's ability will be more helpful if you bring out any more of those clowns." Chaos Sorcerer glowed and its soul left its body and fired towards Peaches knocking him down. (3100) "And now my Chaos Command Magician shifts on guard," he said as his magician shifted on guard.

"That activates my face down Tragedy," Peaches said standing up as his face down card appeared.

Kokuro growled as he watched his magician get blown to pieces, he was just about to say something when he thought he noticed something odd about his Tragedy card. Just as it vanished he could have sworn that he saw a man that looked oddly similar to Peaches behind the woman on this card unlike the other. 'I must be losing it,' Kokuro thought to himself shaking his head. 'Must be all these damn clowns.'

'If only it were that simple boy,' Peaches thought to himself.

"I can't believe it," Mia said stunned. "Kokuro had a great advantage and suddenly both of his monsters are gone."

"I knew that one of them would be going due to Ectoplasmer," Kazuki said, "but even I was taken aback by Tragedy."

"He may be butt ugly…" came a voice from behind. They both looked back quickly to see Sonomi standing behind them. "...but that doesn't mean his dueling skills are bad."

"What are you doing here?" Mia asked.

"My duel is done so I came to watch Kokuro's," she said sitting down next Mia.

"Do you think he's in trouble?" Mia asked her.

"He could be," she responded. "The good thing is that his Life Points are over 8000 and Clowns aren't that strong."

"Agreed," Kazuki said. "As we have seen, it looks like his strategy is based mainly on using Labyrinth of Nightmare and his clown's effects along with cards like Tragedy. So I doubt he uses Bikuribox since it would not work as effective as the two separate clowns."

Back on the dueling field another Clown Token had just come out of the Clone Car and stood there snickering. (1000/1000) Peaches drew his card and he couldn't help but snicker evilly. "I've just drawn my most powerful card by far," he said.

"Then bring it!" Kokuro said confidently.

"As you wish," Peaches said. "First I have to flip up my face down Peten the Dark Clown." The clown dressed in its fancy suite and elegant hat appeared on the field and stuck its tongue out at Kokuro. (500/1200)

"I get annoyed whenever I see that card now," Sonomi commented from the sidelines.

"Now be prepared, I activate the Spell Card, Fancy Meeting You Here!" Peaches exclaimed as he slid the card into the disk. The card's picture showed a Peten on a sidewalk outside of a grocery store waving to an End of Anubis.

"Fancy Meeting You Here?" Kokuro asked dumbfounded as his Life Points increased. (9150) "That's a pretty weird name for a card."

"You won't think it's so weird when you see what it can do," Peaches threatened. "I can only activate it if there is a monster on the field with Clown in its name. Then, I have to remove one Clown Monster and pay 2000 Life Points."

"2000 Life Points!" Kokuro, Sonomi, Mia, and Kazuki gasped.

"Yes," he said as his Life Points dropped significantly. (1100) "So I'll remove my friend Peten," Peten waved goodbye as he vanished. "And now, I can take any monster from your deck and special summon it to my side of the field, ignoring any and all summoning conditions."

"No way!" Kokuro gasped.

"And I'm going to guess that a great Magician user like you has a Sorceror of Black Magic hidden in your deck somewhere. Am I correct?"

"Yes," Kokuro said through gritted teeth.

"Then that's the one I'll take!" he declared as suddenly a magician, wearing flowing black robes and holding a staff with an orb being held up by three prongs appeared. (3200/2800)

"Now Kokuro is in definite trouble," Kazuki said worried for him.

"If you haven't noticed yet, my card is a continuous spell card," Peaches said. "If you have some way to destroy it, your monster will be sent to your graveyard and the monster I removed will be returned to the field in whatever mode it was in; however my Life Points will remain gone, but that's not a concern to me. And if the monster is simply destroyed, then my poor Peten stays gone as well."

"I'm sure it's not," Kokuro growled as he stared up at his magician.

"Now, I'll summon Saggi the Dark Clown," Peaches said as the sinister looking clown from the previous chapter appeared on the field, and it brought its lame joke back with it…it began to laugh insanely.

"I wonder what Master Kaiba was thinking when he made the holograms for Saggi," Mia wondered out loud.

"Why do you ask that?" Kazuki asked.

Mia looked over at Kazuki and shook her head, "Oh, nothing."

"Now," Peaches began, "I send Sorceror of Black Magic, Saggi the Dark Clown, and my Clown Token to attack you directly!"

The Sorceror shot out a stream of fire from his staff that engulfed Kokuro causing him to scream out loud. Saggi the Insane Laugher released a beam of purple energy at Kokuro knocking him down, and the Clown Token formed a purple ball of energy in its hand and flung it at Kokuro just as he was standing back up. The ball of energy knocked Kokuro back down and his Life Points fell significantly. (4350)

Kokuro stood up slowly and weakly, and growled at Peaches, "you _will _pay for that," he threatened.

"Somehow I doubt that," Peaches snickered. "I end my turn, and now my Clown Token will be offered for Ectoplasmer!" The Clown began to glow and its soul went into the Ectoplasmer card and was shot at Kokuro, who barely kept from falling over as his Life Points fell. (3850) "Saggi and the Magician are put on guard and I'll let you try to figure something out now."

* * *

Up in the secret viewing room the computer girl had long since stopped trying to figure out the identity of Peaches and was watching the duel Kaiba. "It looks like he's really hurt," she said to him.

"He took a heavy shot to his pride," Kaiba replied. "That magician is probably really special to him since its rarity is so high. It's not easy to come by and I'm sure he keeps it in more than excellent condition. Getting attacked by it probably really hurt him emotionally."

"Spoken like the Legend you are," the secretary said. Kaiba ignored the compliment and continued to watch the duel.

* * *

Kokuro drew his card and looked down at it, "I set one monster on guard," he announced putting the card face down on the disk causing the card to appear. "Go," he said.

"With pleasure," Peaches said as another new Clown Token squeezed itself out of the Clown Car. (1000/1000) "I activate Seltzer Bottle," Peaches said as a card appeared on the field with a picture of Saggi spraying a seltzer bottle at Toon Black Magician Girl while laughing insanely.

"And just what does _that _card do?" Kokuro asked as his Life Points increased. (4350)

"Like Clown Car it can only be activated when there is a monster with Clown in its name on the field," Peaches said calmly, "but again, I won't tell you what it does until later."

"How nice of you," Kokuro said rolling his eyes.

"I thought so too," he replied. "Now I put my Sorceror and Saggi back to the field in attack mode," he announced as he switched the cards on his disk and the two monsters stood up.

"Now then my Clown Token, attack his monster!" he announced as the clown fired a ball of purple energy at the face down monster. A magician in purple robes and a green staff appeared before being destroyed.

"You've attacked my Apprentice Magician," Kokuro said as he pulled out his deck. "Now I can take a Spellcaster with two stars or less from my deck and put it face down on guard; and I choose my last Apprentice Magician."

"Then I'll send my Sorceror of Black Magic to attack it!" Peaches proclaimed as the sorceror fired a blast of magic at the face down monster blowing away the apprentice magician.

"I'll take my Old Vindictive Magician," Kokuro said as he set it on the field.

"I'll end my turn from here," Peaches said. "And since I already know what your old magician does, I'll offer up Sorceror!" The magician's soul left its body and fired at Kokuro causing him to be pushed back quite a bit. (2750) "Now my Saggi goes on guard and my Clown Token is destroyed due to my end phase. But first I'll set one card under the table before passing it over to you." The clown took out an air pump, filled itself up before blowing up into balloon like pieces.

Kokuro had to grin, "I'll admit, _that _was funny."

"You like watching my clowns blow themselves up?" Peaches asked slightly annoyed.

This time it was Kokuro who had the sinister voice, "yesss," he said letting the 'S' hiss out.

"I guess that made him exceptionally happy," Mia said.

"I know it made me happy," Sonomi said smirking.

Kokuro drew his card and looked at his Spear Dragon. 'If I just summon it and end, Spear Dragon will be offered and I'll be able to do enough damage to him that next turn I'll be able to wipe him out. I don't want to win this way, but I have no idea what that Seltzer Bottle does, and I don't want to risk setting it off.' He stared up at Peaches who was grinning at Kokuro, as if he were waiting for the end of his move. 'That guy is so creepy; I can't wait for this duel to be over.'

"I hope your turn is quick," Peaches said. "I'm getting impatient."

"You asked for it," Kokuro said playing his Spear Dragon down, "I summon Spear Dragon!" he announced as the dragon appeared on the field. (1900/0) "And now I'll end my turn, activating Ectoplasmer and offering up Spear Dragon to do 950 points of damage straight to your life."

"Why did he do that?" Mia asked.

"I think he's worried about that Seltzer Bottle," Kazuki said watching. "That thing hasn't done anything at all since Peaches played it so Kokuro is probably coming to the same conclusion I have, that it activates during the Battle Phase. By not attacking or entering his Battle Phase, he can't set off whatever effect it has."

"What a good strategist," Mia said smiling.

"I'll admit it," Sonomi said smiling, "the boy is clever."

The Spear Dragon's soul was taken from its body and went flying towards Peaches who stood there grinning. "I activate the ability of my Seltzer Bottle!"

"What!" Kokuro, Mia, Sonomi, and Kazuki gasped.

"My Seltzer Bottle, as long as there is a monster with Clown in its name on the field, has the ability to negate all non-battle damage I take from a card effect!" Saggi took out a seltzer bottle from his pocket and sprayed it at the ectoplasm flying towards Peaches. The water kept the energy at bay before it finally dissipated.

"And now it is my turn," Peaches said as another Clown Token exited the Clown Car. (1000/1000) Peaches drew his card and played it immediately, "I summon another Saggi the Dark Clown," he said as the evil clown came to the field. (600/1500) "Now I activate my face down Clown's Revenge!" he said as a card depicting Saggi wielding two knives and smirking insanely appeared on the field. "This is a special card for Saggi only," he said. "I guess the name of one face down card on the field, if I guess it correctly, it's destroyed, if not I take damage equal to Saggi's defense points."

"He could lose the duel!" Mia exclaimed.

"Not really," Kazuki said under gritted teeth.

"What do you mean?" Mia asked.

"That Seltzer Bottle will negate the damage he would lose," Sonomi said.

"Not only that but he knows that Kokuro's face down monster is Old Vindictive."

Mia gasped just as he heard peaches yell out, "Old Vindicitve Magician!" The Magician revealed itself before being destroyed. "I switch my other Saggi to attack mode," the other clown stood up. "Now my clowns, attack!" The two Saggi's let out purple magic while the Clown Token sent out a ball of purple energy.

All three slammed into Kokuro knocking him down as his Life Points fell drastically. (550) "Kokuro!" the three watching called out to him.

* * *

Up in the stands Kaiba was really upset, "This is getting bad."

"Isn't there anything we can do for him?" the computer girl asked.

Kaiba shook his head, "unless we can prove that Peaches is an intruder, we aren't allowed to stop the duel. Besides, we need the tests to be completed, if students think there is an intruder going around beating powerful duelists they'll drop out like flies."

Unable to control herself, the computer girl shouted out as loud as she could, "Give it to him Kokuro!"

* * *

In Ritsuzen's room, Kyusai-sensei had insisted that they watch the duels on the TV. Seeing as how 'The Project' was such a big deal, each station in the dorms and lounge hall showed a separate duel that were being broadcasted live. They had just tuned in when Kokuro was struck by his own Sorceror and Ritsuzen insisted that they watch the duel and had been watching closely ever since.

Ritsuzen watched as Kokuro was barely standing up, "I don't know who you are Peaches," Ritsuzen said to himself, "but prove that Ra is nothing more than a lucky amateur."

"I'll admit," Kyusai-sensei said watching contently, "it doesn't look like Kokuro is getting out of this one."

"Maybe I'll challenge Peache's at the end of the tournament," Ritsuzen said smirking. "Anyone who can beat that fool is worthy enough of being destroyed by me."

* * *

Kokuro was excessively wobbly; he was not feeling well at all. 'These attacks are so painful,' Kokuro thought to himself. 'Then again, I've taken quite a few direct hits, I could just be overtired.'

"I end my turn and sacrifice my Clown Token!" Peaches announced as his Clown Token gave up its spirit and slammed it into Kokuro. (50) "My two Saggi's go on guard and I give you your final turn."

'I don't think I can win,' Kokuro thought to himself. 'I've always been one to go for the last card, but I can't think of anything that's going to save me. By using Seltzer Bottle, Peaches' is completely safe from Ectoplasmer's weakness of striking its owner. I can't honestly think of anything that could save me…unless…'

"Come on Kokuro!" Mia called out. "Don't let this freak get to you!"

"Remember what we talked about before we started," Sonomi encouraged.

'Kokuro is doing the very best he can,' Kazuki thought to himself. 'But with that Seltzer Bottle on the field, the only thing Kokuro can do is try to find someway to get to Peaches' Life Points. It doesn't look good for him, but he's still going for it. That's what I like most about him.' Kazuki smiled as he watched Kokuro reach for the top card on his deck.

'Come on MST,' Kokuro thought as he pulled his top card and saw his Breaker. He frowned for a moment before realizing exactly what he had drawn, 'Well, this will work,' he thought as he smiled. "I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior!" Kokuro called out as his magical knight appeared on the field with its red armor shining in the light. (1900/1000) "Now I remove Breaker's counter to destroy Ectoplasmer!" Breaker's sword began to glow while he ran up to the Ectoplasmer card and slashed his sword destroying it.

"Way to go!" Mia cheered.

"Breaker's counter that it comes into play with makes it 300 points stronger," Kokuro explained. "Now that I've given it up he losses attack power, but it's still enough to take out your clowns." (1600/1000) "Breaker, destroy one of those clowns!" he called out as the magical swordsman slashed one of the clowns in half destroying it. "That ends my turn and causes Breaker to switch on guard due to your trap." Breaker took a defensive position and another clown came out of the small car.

"Now, I think I'll begin by activating my second Swords of Concealing Light!" Peaches declared as the dark swords came raining down onto Kokuro's side of the field once more. Breaker vanished being replaced with his brown backed card as Mia, Sonomi, and Kazuki watched on as Kokuro's Life Points rose. (550)

"Either he's getting really desperate or he's waiting for another Ectoplasmer," Mia said to the others.

"I think it's a bit of both," Kazuki said. "Peaches know's that his Clown Token will be destroyed at the end of the turn, so he's limiting Kokuro's attack options, even though it gave Kokuro some extra Life Points."

"It doesn't matter how many Life Points he gains," Sonomi said. "Unless Peaches activates more spells Kokuro's Life Points aren't going up much higher. This duel is coming to a close, we just have to wait and see whose favor it's in."

"I think Kokuro will win," Fuuten said coming up behind them.

They looked back startled, "when did you get here?" Sonomi asked.

"Just a moment ago," he said smiling. "I beat my opponent using…"

"The power of Kuriboh's?" Kazuki asked with a hint of amusement.

"Right on!" he said smiling and giving a thumb up.

"I have to admit, I've never seen someone use a Kuriboh Deck quite like you Fuuten," Kazuki said smiling.

"A Kuriboh Deck?" Mia asked.

"You mean you've never seen Fuuten's Kuriboh deck in action?" Kazuki asked a little stunned.

"I haven't either as a matter of fact," Sonomi said.

"Well, I'll say this much, you've missed some interesting duels then," he said grinning at Fuuten.

"Perhaps you'll see me use it during the tournament," Fuuten said with a wide smile.

"I'd love to!" Mia said smiling.

"If we aren't dueling in the same round I'll give it a shot," Sonomi said.

"Awesome," Fuuten smiled, "but for now, let's watch our friend."

While they had been talking, Peaches had switched Saggi to attack mode and then ended, having it go back on guard and also making the Clown Token destroy itself. Kokuro was just drawing. "I summon Skilled Black Magician!" he announced as his black robed magician appeared on the field twirling its staff. (1900/1700) "Go Skilled Black Magician, wipe out the last of his clowns!" The Magician let out a stream of black magic that slammed into the clown destroying it. Unexpectedly the Clown Car drove off while the Seltzer Bottle card exploded.

"It would appear that having no cards with clown in the name destroys those cards," Kazuki said smiling.

"How's that for a nice play?" Kokuro asked Peaches.

"Not too impressive," Peaches said annoyed. 'You forget, that you would have lost by now if I had attacked earlier.' Peaches thought to himself.

"I end my turn," Kokuro said as his Skilled Black Magician went on guard.

"My move," Peaches said drawing his card. "My only choice is to set one monster on guard and end."

"Fine with me," Kokuro said drawing. He looked at the Double Spell he had just drawn, 'I'll wait to see how the end of my battle phase turns out,' Kokuro thought to himself. 'If I can avoid winning like that, I will.' "I switch Skilled Black to attack mode and have it attack your face down monster!"

"You've destroyed Peten," Peaches said as the clown was destroyed as another took its place. (500/1200) "As I'm sure you know, he comes back."

"You've left me with no choice," Kokuro said. He heard Kuriboh and he could almost swear it was telling him that everything would be alright. "I sacrifice Skilled black and my face down Breaker to summon Buster Blader," he announced as his robed magician and the face down card vanished and the mighty sword wielding dragon slayer appeared on the field. (2600/2300)

"What good does that do you?" Peaches asked.

"I activate Double Spell!" he called out as the spell card appeared on the field. (1050) "Now, I discard Diffusion-Wave Motion from my hand so that I can activate one spell card from your graveyard, and the one I'm after is Ectoplasmer."

Peaches growled as his graveyard began to shine and a light shot from it causing the Ectoplasmer card to appear on Kokuro's side of the field. "I guess you win this round."

"Forgive me Buster Blader," Kokuro said looking at the sword wielder. The warrior looked at him and nodded. "Thanks," he said. "I end my turn, and I offer Buster Blader up to wipe you out!" Buster Blader laid his sword down and willingly gave himself over to the spell card. It shot his soul out at Peaches who covered his face, but a smile had formed.

'You haven't seen the true power of this deck,' Peaches thought to himself. 'I promise you we will meet again…' (0)

"It's over," Kokuro said giving off a breath of relief. He watched a little confused as Peaches simply turned around and walked off. Mia and Sonomi jumped over the side to go congratulate Kokuro while Kazuki stood up looking over at Fuuten.

"Intense duel, wouldn't you say?" he asked Fuuten.

"Yeah," Fuuten agreed.

"Sadly, it wasn't as amusing as your duels. Who knows, maybe Clowns and Kuriboh's will meet up one day."

"Hell yeah!" Fuuten said laughing.

Up in the viewing room the girl was at the computer typing out orders while Kaiba was speaking into a hidden microphone in his trench coat. "I want the duelist known as Peaches captured and detained for questioning." He ended the transmission and watched Kokuro and his two friends, 'That guy could have won numerous times…why didn't he?'

"I think Sonomi and I should head on out to find our next duelist," Kokuro said.

"They don't announce the duelists until everyone has completed their duels," Sonomi said. "And it looks as if there are quite a few still going on."

"I suppose we just sit around and wait for them to finish then?" Mia asked.

"I guess so," Kokuro said sighing.

* * *

Outside in a shaded corner of the building Peaches emerged, unseen by anyone. A small ringing was heard from his jacket pocket and he reached in and produced a cell phone. He looked at it a couple of times before opening it. "Peaches," he said coldly.

A dark voice came over the other end of the phone, "How did it go?"

"Your suspicions were correct; he's a good duelist. However I believe his heart is too pure; he won't be joining us."

There was a pause on the other end before the dark voice came again, "This news is troubling."

"Don't worry; if he becomes an interference I can easily take care of him, my match today proves that."

"Excellent," the voice responded hanging up. Peaches pocketed the contraption and walked off.


	26. Kuriboh Alliance

Sdrive: Insert witty comment here.

Sorry about such a late update. Between school, work, and wanting to get a special Halloween Edition of Ra Yellow up (which might not make it for Halloween) I've been a little boggled. But here it is none the less.

* * *

"I've never seen him before today," Kokuro said nervously being stared down by an angered Seto Kaiba. Earlier, Kokuro was upset that they had to wait for the next round of the project to start; now he was wishing that he could embrace the dullness. 

"I know you've never met him before today," Kaiba said, "but this 'Peaches' person could be more dangerous than any of you realize. This lunatic could be anyone! If you have any clue as to whom he is, or even if you think you've seen him before, you need to tell me."

"What about that guy we met during the Nature Hike?" Mia asked. When Kokuro found out he'd be speaking with Kaiba about Peaches, he was bound and determined to take his two friends with him.

"That guy was dressed funny," Sonomi said to her, "but he looked normal and used a Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth, I don't think Peaches has that anywhere in that deck of his."

"The only notable thing was the fact they both had black Duel Disks," Kokuro stated. He paused and looked at Kaiba.

"I already know what you're going to ask and the answer is no. That man is long gone."

"I figured as much," Kokuro said slightly annoyed.

"This is bad," Kaiba said, still clearly angry. "I can't have some runaway circus freak ruining my academy."

"If it will help any, I'm sure Sonomi and Mia will help you find him, I know I sure will," Kokuro said turning to his two friends who nodded at him.

"No," Kaiba said after a pause. "This falls out of your hands. I want you all to go back to continue the Project. You are not to talk to the other students about Peaches, about anything. You are also not to mention the man you encountered during the Nature Hike."

"Yes Master Kaiba," they replied.

"Dismissed," he said. They bowed and walked out. Kaiba sat down at his computer and accessed his e-mail. He chose "write" and began a message to NarabiEI2 and CEOneday. "I have a request that requires the combined effort of your snooping skills…"

* * *

Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia were heading down the hall back towards the Examination Arena. They were all kind of silent until Kokuro finally spoke, "Think Peaches and that guy from the Scavenger Hunt are part of the Rare Hunters?" he asked. 

"That group of losers?" Sonomi asked annoyed. "Those fools couldn't duel their way out of paper bags."

"Are you both talking about the underground duelists that were disbanded a few years back after Battle City?" Mia wanted to know.

"Yes," Kokuro responded. "And if the truth be told, they were actually really good duelists."

"Pfft," Sonomi responded. "One of the Rouge Hunters, as the few that stayed together called themselves, decided it would be a good idea to attack my school and try to steal rare cards from the 'easy pickings.' There was one girl, Katsu Amaya, who had a Masked Beast Des Guardius but was a poor duelist."

"Good grief!" Kokuro exclaimed. "A Des Guardius? It's hard enough to come upon a regular Masked Beast, but Des Guardius?"

"Yeah," Sonomi said nodding. "The guy beat her since she was such a poor duelist and took it. I immediately stood in and wagered my entire deck for that one card. I crushed him and I ended up getting _his_ entire deck.

"He gave you his entire deck!" Mia and Kokuro screamed out at her in surprise.

"Well, I kind of just took it, but yeah," she said taking in the memory and smirking evilly. "In return I gave the deck to Katsu along with her Des Guardius, there was nothing I needed in that deck anyway, and my performance proved it." She stopped when she didn't hear their footsteps and turned to look at them. If Kokuro and Mia were in an anime, their entire bodies would be white, their eyes bulged, and a sweat drop on each head. But since they weren't in an anime, they were just huddled together in a scared hug shaking.

"Let me get this straight," Kokuro said through stuttered speech. "You wagered your entire deck…"

"…beat the heck out of him," Mia continued also stuttering.

"…and then got him to give you his entire deck along with the Des Guardius?" Kokuro finished.

"Yeah so?" she asked getting upset with her two friends.

"You're scary," Mia said.

"Really scary," Kokuro agreed.

"Why I oughta…" Sonomi said shaking her fist. They both cowered back taking baby steps. Angered, Sonomi turned around giving off a loud "Hmph," and proceeded to continue along the path towards the arena. Kokuro and Mia followed behind, at a distance.

* * *

The group of friends had reached the arena, all acting normal, and had entered above Kazuki's duel. They decided to watch the best they could, seeing as how all the seats around the surrounding arena were packed. Kazuki stood strong at 5200 Life Points while his opponent wasn't doing too badly at 4300. His opponent had two Marauding Captains out on the field, one equipped with United We Stand and Shooting Star Bow-Ceal. (1800/2000) Kazuki had Knight of White Dragon (1900/1200) on the field and it was just the end of his opponent's turn. 

"My move," Kazuki said drawing. "Card of Sanctity allows us to draw until we have 6 cards in our hands," he said as they drew. "I set one card under the table and activate Black Luster Ritual, now by discarding my Masked Beast I can summon Black Luster Soldier!" he called out as a knight with blue and gold armor appeared on the field. It carried a blue and gold shield and a long curved sword; its red hair was in a ponytail behind it. (3000/2500) "Now I'll set two cards under the table and end my turn," he said as his two cards appeared behind his two monsters.

"A daring move I suppose," his opponent said drawing, "but futile none the less. Go Marauding Captain, attack his Life Points!" The Warrior took an arrow from the pouch on its back and set it on the long bow. Pulling back the string it released and sent the arrow flying right into Kazuki who gave the slightest eye twitch. (3400)

"Talk about tough," Mia said.

"Yeah really," Kokuro said watching in fascination.

"It's your turn Kazuki," the boy said waving his hand.

"Good," Kazuki said drawing his card. "I reveal my two set cards, both which are Compulsive Evacuation Devices'. Now I return both of your captains to your hand," he said as the two warriors were shot into the sky disappearing.

"NO!" the student shouted.

"Knight of White Dragon, attack my opponent," Kazuki said calmly as the paladin rode over to the boy and slashed him in the chest with his lance knocking the poor student backwards. (2400) "Black Luster Soldier, finish him off!" The warrior gracefully jumped over to his opponent and brought his sword down on him depleting the student's Life Points. (0)

"_And that ends the second round of the first line of match ups!" _The announcer cried out. "_There will be a 15 minute break and then the second line of match ups, round one will begin."_

"Wow, I'm never facing you again," the student said hurrying off. The student could be heard screaming, "I must have been crazy!" from down the hall.

Kazuki shook his head sadly and cleared off his disk allowing it to fold back into place. He was about to walk off when he heard his name being called from the other side. He turned to see the trio of friends making their way towards him. He smiled when he saw them and greeted them, "how did you like my performance?"

"Only saw the last 3 rounds but they were pretty clever rounds," Kokuro said.

"Why thank you," he replied smiling.

"So, that was the last duel of the second round eh?" Sonomi asked him.

"Yes," he replied.

"Well, it appears we've all passed so far," Kokuro said. "Only ones I haven't seen yet are Yaku and Kahou and Jordan."

"Yaku and Kahou both won their duels," Kazuki informed them. "They're currently at the lobby, I don't know about Jordan."

"I hope he won," Mia said worried.

"If his opponent was a female student I'm sure he gave up," Sonomi said slightly annoyed. The others didn't respond because they were afraid that she was probably right.

"How long until the next match ups are decided?" Mia asked.

"We won't know for another seven minutes," Kazuki said. "Then we have another eight afterwards before our duels begin." He glanced over at Mia, "Did you find space for the cards?"

She nodded happily, "Yes, thank you again."

"You're welcome again," he said to her.

"So what do we do for the next 12 minutes?" Mia asked.

"I suppose we just wait around for the next results," Kazuki said.

"Sounds good to me," Kokuro said stretching. "I would rather be bored than be stared down at by Master Kaiba."

"Excuse me?" Kazuki asked.

Remembering what Kaiba had told him Kokuro shook his head, "Oh, nothing, I was just saying how much more fun sitting around is then being in trouble with Kaiba, that's all."

"He asked about that Peaches guy didn't he?" Kazuki asked.

"Um…maybe?" was all Kokuro could say.

"I won't push it," Kazuki said. "If you're that worried he probably wanted you to not talk about it."

"Thanks," Kokuro said giving out a sigh of relief.

* * *

For the next few minutes they all sat around and talked before heading off to the lobby to see the match ups. They checked the paper once the people in front got out of the way. They noticed that the first name on the second round was Jordan Sabre. They were glad that he had passed. They continued to scan the paper when Kazuki smirked, "Get ready to have an amusing duel," he said to Kokuro. 

"Why is that?" Kokuro asked.

Kazuki pointed to a line on the first round paper that read, "Fuuten Hiroshi VS Kokuro Samé"

"I'm dueling Fuuten!" Kokuro said stunned.

"It would appear that way," Setsuna's voice said from behind them. They turned to look and she waved, "Hi everyone."

"What are you doing here?" Mia asked.

"Fuuten asked me if I would come watch his duels if I had time," she replied. "Master Kaiba told me I could close up the shop today to watch the tournament so I came here to watch Fuuten."

"I'm sure he'll really appreciate it," Mia said smiling. Sonomi had turned back to the paper to find her match up and gasped when she saw who she was facing. "What's wrong?" Mia asked trying to see where she was looking.

"It can't be…" Sonomi said as she took off into the arena.

"Sonomi!" everyone called out but she was already gone. Mia began to head off with her, "It's her duel I watch next, but she took off so I gotta go. Good luck!" she waved and ran off to find Sonomi. The others stared at each other and then went to look at the paper when a loud noise was heard coming towards them.

'There's no way,' Sonomi was thinking to herself. 'It's not possible, I would have known if she were here.'

"Sonomi!" Mia called out. "Wait up!"

Sonomi didn't hear her and kept running. She got to her arena and looked across to see her opponent was already standing there. Mia caught up and tried to catch her breath, "What's going on?" she asked in between breaths.

"My opponent," Sonomi began, "it's…"

* * *

The group turned around to see Fuuten wearing a Kuriboh shaped backpack running towards them waving. "Hey guys, what's up?" 

"Apparently you're going to be facing Kokuro in a duel," Kazuki informed him.

"Yeah I know," Fuuten said smiling at Kokuro before he noticed Setsuna, where he got a little red, "oh, Setsuna! You were able to come?"

"Yeah, Mr. Kaiba allowed me to close down the shop today so I could watch," she responded.

"That's good news," he said smiling.

"We'd better hurry if we're going to get to our arena," Kokuro said.

Fuuten nodded, "Right, let's go."

"Are you coming with us?" Setsuna asked Kazuki.

"Yes, I don't duel until the second round again," he replied. With that decided, they all headed out towards the arena and Kokuro followed Fuuten down to Arena 6.

"_It looks like we are about to see an exciting duel," _The announcer said as they reached the arena. _"The up and coming star, Kokuro Samé, is about to face off against the already famous Fuuten Hiroshi. However, to the girls that have crowded around the arena, I think it's safe to say that most know Hiroshi best as Kuriboh-kami from the sounds of it."_

True enough, the audience around their arena was filled with girls, and all were shouting out "Go Kuriboh-kami Go!" Fuuten waved to the audience and all the girls got hearts in their eyes and their faces began to blush as they squealed in delight.

"Huh?" Kokuro asked confused.

"I'm assuming you've never seen _Duel Daze_," Kazuki chuckled.

"Duel Daze?" Kokuro asked.

"It's one of the shows the academy plays," Kazuki explained. "It's a comedy talk show and they needed someone fun and childlike to be the host. If you couldn't guess, Fuuten got the job, and his partner on the set is a Kuriboh hologram."

Kokuro's eyes kind of widened and he stared at the audience, "Do the girls really like the show that much?"

"The real draw is his deck," Kazuki explained. "As you might have guessed, due to their cuteness, Kuriboh's tend to rank pretty high among the 'cutest monster,' on the girl survey. And what girl wouldn't want to watch a _boy _use a deck centered on the little guy?"

"I guess so," Kokuro said smiling a little nervously.

"The thing is, Fuuten is a carefree kid who loves to have fun and is very fond of his Kuribohs. He doesn't care about winning or losing at all, so of course his favorite card is something just as fun as he is, a Kuriboh."

"You think a Kuriboh is fun?" Kokuro asked surprised.

"It has its moments," Kazuki said grinning. "Either way, the girls really enjoy watching all the different kinds of Kuriboh's come onto the field, and surprisingly enough he does quite well."

"And you enjoy watching these duels because…" Kokuro said letting it hang trying to figure out the link he was missing.

"Because Fuuten and I grew up next door to each other and I've known him all my life."

"Oh," Kokuro said seeing the connection.

"I had to move away at 10, but we stayed close friends, and it was always fun watching him goof off. Besides, it's intriguing to me to watch cards based on Kuriboh winning duels."

"I'll bet," Kokuro said. Kokuro heard the sound of Kuriboh and saw his friend appear next to him, "What's up?" Kuriboh let out a noise and Kokuro smiled. 'Even though Fuuten is the big Kuriboh fan, the Kuriboh and Hane Kuriboh friendship spirits chose Sonomi, Mia and I. It's kind of weird knowing I'll be going up against such a fan with a Kuriboh friendship spirit cheering me on. Still, I won't hold back.'

"The Kuriboh on the show likes to dress up as different things," Kazuki said to him breaking him from his thoughts. "That's why they made the cards."

"Ahh," Kokuro said nodding.

Fuuten turned around and pulled his backpack off and opened it. "I guess we're ready," he said pulling out a Duel Disk that looked like a Kuriboh. He slid it on and inserted his deck into the top of the Kuriboh's head. When it unfolded Kokuro noticed that each separate slot was shaped like a mini-kuriboh. The Life Points were displayed in its eyes, "80", in one eye and "00" in the other

"Uh…yeah," Kokuro said pulling out his deck and inserting it causing his own Duel Disk to unfold. The announcer had already called out for the matches to start but they hadn't noticed until now. Kokuro drew his hand and looked at it, "I'll let you go first," he said.

"Alrighty," Fuuten said. "I'll begin with one on guard and one under the table, that will do it for me," he said as the two cards appeared.

"Alright then it's my turn," Kokuro said drawing his card and looking at it. He put it into his hand and took White Magician Pikeru. 'Both Kuriboh and Hane Kuriboh have a weak defense,' he thought to himself. 'Pikeru should more than suffice.' "I summon White Magician Pikeru," he said as he played the card and the cute little magician appeared on the field, her robes flowing as she gave a little twirl of joy. (1200/0) "Pikeru attack the face down monster!" She gave a twirl as magic came from her staff twirling around her. She pointed it straight out at the card and the energy blasted the card. A Kuriboh appeared on the field, but it wasn't one that Kokuro had ever seen before.

"From episode 23," Fuuten said to the audience. "When Kuriboh decided to be a mad scientist and mixed the wrong potions together creating…Stone Kuriboh!" It was truly a Kuriboh that looked like it had accidentally turned to stone in some sort of weird experiment. (100/2100) Pikeru's blast did nothing to the little Kuriboh and Kokuro watched stunned as his Life Points fell. (7100)

"Well, that was unexpected," he admitted. "I'll set one under the table and end my turn," he announced as the face down card appeared on his side of the field.

"Then I suppose it's my turn," Fuuten said drawing his card. "And what better card to draw than the card featured in episode 27? When a bunch of Watapon's infested the studio all equipped with a Chthonian Alliance, Kuriboh had to go off and gather his friends and make the "Mighty Kuriboh Army." And once that happened he became, Kuriboh Soldier!" he said as he played the card down and a little Kuriboh with an army helmet and small sword appeared on the field. (1500/700)

All the girls in the audience started cheering as the little Kuriboh gave off a small cry of happiness. They all got hearts in their eyes and started cheering "Kuriboh-kami."

"Wow, that sure is cute," Setsuna said standing next to Kazuki who just stood there and gave a small grin.

"Kuriboh Soldier, attack Pikeru," Fuuten called out as the Kuriboh flew over and slashed it's small sword across Pikeru destroying her decreasing Kokuro's Life Points some more. (6800)

"That's all," Fuuten said signaling the end of his turn.

"Alright, I guess it's time to step up this duel then," Kokuro said drawing. "I summon Skilled Black Magician!" The black robed magician appeared on the field twirling his silver staff. (1900/1700) "Skilled Black Magician, attack his Kuriboh Soldier!" The Magician let out a beam of black energy that stuck the soldier destroying it decreasing Fuuten's Life Points. (7600)

"Awwwww," all the girls in the audience said.

'Oh come on,' Kokuro thought to himself. 'I'm almost _glad _Mia isn't here for this one. She'd probably call me a "Kuriboh Killer" for the rest of my life. Or worse…she'd be there cheering Fuuten.'

"What are you waiting for?" Fuuten asked curious.

Kokuro shook his head, "Nothing, it's your move."

"Alright then," he said drawing. He looked at the card he drew and put it in his hand, "Nothing I can do this turn, I'll pass it over to you."

"Alright then," Kokuro said a little puzzled. He put his hand on top of his deck and heard the all too familiar sound of Hane Kuriboh. He turned to look at his two friends but instead of Sonomi and Mia, he saw Setsuna and Kazuki. 'Oh right,' he thought a little upset. 'Sonomi seemed really shocked…I wonder who her opponent was.' He drew the card and looked right at Hane Kuriboh. "I set one on guard," he said putting Hane Kuriboh on his Duel Disk. "Next I activate Mage Power to increase the power of my Skilled Black Magician." The card appeared on the field and the Skilled Black Magician began to glow. (2900/2700) "Plus that gives my magician a spell counter. But for now, Skilled Black Magician, attack Stone Kuriboh!" The Magician blasted out a golden beam of magic that crumbled the Stone Kuriboh. "That ends my turn."

"Looks like Kokuro just got the advantage," Setsuna said.

"I wouldn't count Fuuten out just yet," Kazuki said concentrating on the duel.

"My move," Fuuten said drawing. He chuckled when he saw the card, putting it into his hand grabbing another one. "I summon Hane Kuriboh," he said as his small angel Kuriboh appeared on the field. (300/200) All the girls began getting hearts again and cooing. "Now I activate my face down Kuriboh's Play Time."

"Kuriboh's Play Time?" Kokuro asked.

"Yup, it can only be activated if there is a Hane Kuriboh on the field and it allows me to special summon one Kuriboh from either my graveyard or deck." He pulled out his deck and summoned Kuriboh watching as it appeared on the field letting out a small cry. (300/200) He reshuffled and inserted his deck back into his Kuriboh Disk. "Now I activate Fusion!" he announced as the spell card appeared.

"A fusion summon?" Kokuro asked. "With what?"

"With the two Kuriboh's on the field of course," Fuuten said. The vortex appeared and the two different types of Kuriboh's entered and what came out was a pure white Kuriboh with angelic wings, a halo, and a small golden harp. (300/200) "Meet Kuriboh The Pure!" Fuuten announced as all the girls in the audience squealed in delight at its cuteness.

"Kuriboh The Pure eh?" Kokuro asked. "I notice that it's on guard."

"That it is," Fuuten said laughing. "And he has a pretty cool effect too but I'll tell you that later. Yes, this little guy is Kuriboh's conscious, or one side of it anyway," Fuuten explained. "First appearance was in episode 3, when Kuriboh had to decide whether or not he was going to take the last can of my favorite soda."

"Oook," Kokuro said.

"Anyway, that ends my turn for now."

"Good, now it's my turn," Kokuro said drawing. "And I'm afraid you won't like what I'm about to do, I offer up my Skilled Black Magician and my own Hane Kuriboh in order to summon Black Magician of Chaos!" Hane Kuriboh appeared waving and then disappeared along with the other magician allowing the blue skinned magician with blue armor and long blue staff to appear on the field. (2800/2600) "And using its effect, I'll bring back Mage Power," Kokuro explained as his graveyard let out a light and his Mage Power slid out.

"Good combo," Fuuten said nodding.

"Thanks. Now, Black Magician of Chaos wipes out Kuriboh The Pure!" The Magician released a purple ball of magic that was shot right at the Kuriboh. The field exploded and Kokuro and Fuuten had to cover themselves to protect from the smoke. When it finally cleared Kokuro was surprised to see that the little Kuriboh was still there.

"If you haven't figured it out yet, Kuriboh The Pure can't be destroyed in battle," Fuuten explained.

"A Spirit Reaper effect," Kokuro said annoyed. "Nothing I can do about it, it's your move."

"Aye aye captain," Fuuten said saluting before drawing his card. "I'll set one card under the table," he announced as his face down appeared on the field. He then took the card he drew earlier and placed it on the field, "Time to bring forth a very cool card, I summon Mokoboh!" A small furry creature with a red jewel in the head, and long ears appeared on the field smiling happily. (1000/500) As expected, all the girls in the audience squealed at the cuteness.

"It looks like a mix between a Kuriboh and Mokona Modoki from Tsubasa and Magic Knight Rayearth…" Kokuro mused looking at it.

Fuuten put his finger on his nose, "That was the inspiration. I specifically asked for the creation of this card, and better yet, Mokoboh has not appeared yet. So as of right now it's a completely original card."

"I thought you made the others as well," Kokuro said confused.

"I thought he did too," Setsuna said from the sidelines.

"I thought up some of them, but most of them were inspired by the script," Fuuten said shrugging. "Both ways Mokoboh is my creation and I'm about to activate his special ability." Kokuro watched as Mokoboh opened his mouth and three holographic cards spit out of it and landed onto the duel disk. Its attack and defense changed while Fuuten made three draws. (0/0)

"What just happened?" Kokuro asked.

"Mokoboh's ability makes it so that I can sacrifice its attack and defense scores in intervals of 500 and for each interval, I get to draw a card," Fuuten explained.

"But now Mokoboh will easily be destroyed," Setsuna said from the sidelines. "Even more he's in attack mode and that means Fuuten will lose Life Points."

"You have to remember Setsuna," Kazuki began, "Fuuten's deck is based around Kuribohs. More than likely he drew one, or already has one in his hand, that will allow him to keep his Life Points safe."

"But Mokoboh will still be destroyed," Setsuna said sadly.

"Mokoboh has a second effect to his ability," Kazuki explained. "Fuuten showed it to me once. Mokoboh makes sure that it doesn't go away without making one final surprise."

Back at the duel Fuuten was finishing up his turn, "I'll set one card under the table and end it from there."

"Then let's see what I can do eh?" Kokuro asked drawing. "I'll summon Fire Princess." The red robed Pyro appeared on the field twirling her brown staff in her hands. (1300/1500) "Black Magician of Chaos, attack Mokoboh!"

"Not so fast," Fuuten said as one of his face down cards reversed. "I activate Kuriboh's Faith. This allows me to take one Kuriboh from my graveyard and put it in my hand." Kuriboh slipped out of Fuuten's graveyard and he added it to his hand. The electrical blast went towards Mokoboh who jumped up and opened his mouth. The Cybernetic Magician in Kokuro's hand flew out and got swallowed by Mokoboh. The Chaos Mage sent another ball of energy at Mokoboh who got hit and vanished.

"I discard Kuriboh from my hand to take no damage," Fuuten said as he discarded his furry friend.

"That's obvious," Kokuro said. "How about filling me in on the part that's not so obvious, why my Cybernetic Magician was taken from me?"

"Oh that," Fuuten said smiling. "When Mokoboh is destroyed in battle he gives me one more gift. I can either draw one additional card or I can discard one card randomly from your hand."

"I'll admit, Mokoboh had the last laugh," Kokuro said a little annoyed.

"Sure did," Fuuten agreed.

"I end my turn," Kokuro said waving his hand.

Fuuten drew his card and added it, "One card under the table and end turn."

Kokuro drew his card and set it immediately, "One on guard and end."

Fuuten drew his card and chuckled, "It's going to get boring fast if we don't get some action soon; one under the table and end."

"You couldn't have been so kind as to provide us with that action?" Kazuki asked him.

"Sorry, left my script at home," Fuuten replied.

"Let's see if I can't finally get something to happen," Kokuro smirked drawing. "I reverse my Old Vindictive Magician," he said turning the card on his disk causing the hunchbacked magician to appear on the field. (450/600) "And I'll use his effect to wipe out Kuriboh The Pure," Kokuro said as the magician let out a blast of red magic at the small Kuriboh destroying it. "Thought so," he said smiling.

"Aww," Fuuten replied to the destruction of his Kuriboh.

"Now I activate Mage Power and give it to my Chaotic Mage raising its attack strength by 1000." The Black Magician of Chaos began to glow as its power was strengthened. (3800/3600) "Black Magician of Chaos, attack the player!" The mage gathered golden energy around the tip of its staff which it released in a brilliant golden display. A Kuriboh appeared in front of Fuuten taking the attack.

"Sorry, but I would rather not be wiped out so easily," Fuuten said discarding Kuriboh.

"So I see," Kokuro said annoyed. "Fire Princess, attack with Magical Ember!" The princess lifted her staff causing fire to surround Fuuten and cause him to cry out. No sooner had the fire dissipated than a small green beam of energy struck him in the chest causing his Life Points to fall some more. (5850) "Not often I actually get to attack with my Old Mage," Kokuro said chuckling.

"I reveal Kuriboh's Calling Flute!" Fuuten announced as the small flute appeared and let out a tune brining Hane Kuriboh to the field.

"Ook," Kokuro said. 'That's weird, why didn't he use that to save himself all that damage?' Kokuro pondered this as he waved his hand to signal the end of the turn.

"Why did Fuuten do that after he had already been attacked?" Setsuna asked Kazuki.

"If he's doing what I think he is, then he needs a monster on the field," Kazuki replied.

"A sacrifice?" Setsuna asked.

"Yes, and one that will in turn give Kokuro a lot of grief," Kazuki stated while watching.

"I draw," Fuuten said picking his card up. "I offer Hane Kuriboh in order to summon the general of the 'Mighty Kuriboh Army,' Kuriboh General!" Hane Kuriboh vanished and a Kuriboh wearing a green jacket with 5 stars on it, and carrying a thin sword on the side appeared on the field. (2000/1500) "Once again, from episode 27, the leader of the, 'Mighty Kuriboh Army,' Kuriboh General. And he allows me to sacrifice 1000 Life Points upon his summon to recruit all Kuriboh Soldiers from my deck or hand."

"Well, that's annoying," Kokuro said.

"However I'm not going to do that," Fuuten said. "I have even bigger plans for you, and it starts by activating Twinkle Five Star!" he announced as his spell card appeared. "I have to offer up a monster with 5 stars in order to activate this card," he explained as his Kuriboh General disappeared. "And this allows me to summon the Ku!" he shouted as he pointed his finger to the sky.

"Ri!" the girls in the audience shouted along with him.

"Boh…" Kazuki said softly to himself.

"BROTHERS!" Fuuten and the girls in the audience shouted together. Suddenly 5 different Kuribohs appeared on the field. One was a regular Kuriboh, but there was a purple one, a pink one, a white one, and a turquoise one. "Meet Kuriboh, Kuriba, Kuribi, Kuribu, and Kuribe," Fuuten said as the Kuribohs all responded with "Kuri, kuri." (300/200 x5)

"Nice to meet you," Kokuro said dryly. 'Oh great,' he thought to himself. 'Sonomi is rubbing off on me.'

"These guys are awesome," Fuuten said happily. "And when they join together they form Kuribabylon!" he announced as the Kuribohs all joined together to create a dark colored Kuriboh with two fangs and a horn. (1500/1000) "Kuribabylon's attack power is equal to the combined attack of all the brothers when they were offered.

"I see," Kokuro said looking at the larger Kuriboh.

"Kuribabylon, wipe out the Old Vindictive Magician!" Fuuten called out as Kuribabylon flew towards the old magician and struck him with its horn destroying him.

Kokuro watched Kuribabylon go back to Fuuten's side as his Life Points fell. (5750) "Are you finished?" Kokuro asked him.

"Sure," Fuuten said allowing Kokuro to begin.

"Good, then I'll draw my card," he said looking quickly, "I offer Fire Princess to summon Black Magician Girl," he said as the princess vanished and the ever famous magician girl appeared on the field with a twirl. (2000/1700) "Go Black Magician of Chaos, wipe out Kuribabylon!" The Magician released another beam of golden light that went right for the oversized Kuriboh.

"Reverse trap, Star Defense!" Kuribabylon concentrated hard causing an energy star of varying colors to appear on the field and block the attack. Once it was over Kuribabylon poofed back into the five Kuriboh Brothers. "Star Defense protects either Kuribabylon or Kuribandit from being destroyed and negates the battle damage, as long as they are returned from where they were summoned from and I bring the back the Kuriboh Brothers."

"I see," Kokuro said nodding. "However, now that they are just the Kuriboh Brothers, I can take them out much easier, Black Magician Girl, attack Kuribi with Burning Magic Attack!

The Magician Girl released a pink burst of magic right at the pink Kuriboh however it called for its friends and they all made a formation with their bodies and another star appeared in front of them protecting them from the attack.

Kokuro stared at Fuuten for a couple of seconds, "I thought Star Defense could only work on Kuribabylon or that…Kuritheif…"

"Kuribandit," Fuuten corrected. "And the trap is based on the monster in a way. Star Defense the trap card allows Kuribabylon and Kuribandit to tap into the powers of Kuribi, which was used to make it, and use the Star Defense power that Kuribi possesses. However it takes so much energy that it's bounced back into the other original five brothers. When Kuribi uses his power, it negates the attack and drops the monsters attack to 0 until the end of the battle sequence."

'Man this is getting annoying,' Kokuro thought to himself. 'I wonder if this is why Sonomi was so resistant to Kuriboh at first.' He waved his hand signaling the end of the turn.

Fuuten drew and smiled, "I activate Pot of Averice," he said as the card appeared. "I have to take 5 monsters from my graveyard, shuffle them back into my deck, and then I may draw two more cards. So I'll choose Kuriboh, Hane Kuriboh, Kuriboh Soldier, Stone Kuriboh, and Kuriboh General to shuffle back." He did so and then drew his two cards. "I'll set one under the table and end it to you."

"Alrighty then," Kokuro said after he had seen his draw. "I activate Diffusion-Wave Motion!" Kokuro announced as he activated the card and his Life Points fell. (4750) "I choose one Spellcaster with seven stars or more and pay 1000 Life Points. Once all of those requirements have been met the selected Spellcaster can attack all your monsters at once!"

"Those poor Kuriboh's," Setsuna said feeling bad for Fuuten.

"I wouldn't get upset just yet," Kazuki said.

"Oh?" she asked. "Why not?"

"Just watch," Kazuki said intently.

"Black Magician of Chaos, attack!" Kokuro called out. "Wave Motion Blast!" The powerful mage raised its staff gathering a large amount of magic within it. The power was released and it went flying towards one of the Kuribohs.

"I activate Kuribi's ability of Star Defense!" Fuuten called out. The five Kuribohs gathered around each other and created another multicolored star that blocked the attack of blast. The Kuribohs pushed the star towards the magician which got struck by its own attack.

"But…Diffusion-Wave Motion…" Kokuro began.

"Won't stop Kuribi's special ability," Kazuki informed him. "Diffusion-Wave Motion only blocks the effects of monsters that it destroys. That's why it won't work on monsters like Obnoxious Celtic Guard or Spirit Reaper."

"And even more," Fuuten continued, "Star Defense knocks away your magician's attack power, but doesn't stop it from continuing its attack."

"NO!" Kokuro cried out in vain as the magician raised its staff and pointed it at Kuriba. Kuriba flew over towards the Black Magician of Chaos and grabbed hold of it causing a decent sized explosion. Kokuro watched the Kuriba fly back over to Fuuten's side of the field after the smoke had cleared. "I can't believe I made that mistake…" he said watching, almost horrified, as his Life Points fell slightly. (4450)

"Hard blow," Setsuna said, this time sad for Kokuro.

"Had Diffusion-Wave Motion worked the way Kokuro thought it had then it would be Fuuten in the rough spot," Kazuki replied. "However due to that miscalculation of card texts, Kokuro is going to be on the receiving end of trouble."

"Poor Kokuro."

"Don't worry," Kazuki said smiling. "We're all here to learn, and hopefully Kokuro won't make that mistake next time."

"So Kokuro, is it my move?" Fuuten asked.

Kokuro looked at his Black Magician Girl who gave him a reassuring smile. Smiling he turned to Fuuten and nodded, "yeah, I end my turn."

"Well then, let's see what I can do," Fuuten said drawing his card. "I discard one trap card from my hand to activate the special ability of my Kuribu," he said sliding Kuriboh's Faith into his graveyard causing the white Kuriboh to glow white. Black Magician Girl also began to glow white and she suddenly looked exhausted. (500/1700)

"What did you do?" Kokuro asked frightened.

"By discarding a trap card from my hand to the graveyard, Kuribu can decrease the attack power of one monster by 1500 points until the end of the turn."

"But that means…"

"Now I form the Kuriboh Brothers into Kuribabylon!" Fuuten called out once more as the Kuriboh's joined together to make the larger Kuriboh again. (1500/1000) "Attack Black Magician Girl!" Kuribabylon flew forward and rammed its horn into Black Magician Girl blowing her to pieces.

Kokuro growled as his Life Points fell again, (3450) "watch out Fuuten," he said annoyed. "I care a great deal for Kuribohs, Mia and Sonomi could attest to that, but when my magician's take a beating, they'll beat back."

Setsuna looked a little nervous, "Those are some pretty strong words," she said.

"Kokuro cares a great deal for his magicians," Kazuki said. "It pains him to watch them get defeated like this."

"I admire your determination to beat me," Fuuten said. "But you do have to remember that it is a game."

"I know that," Kokuro growled.

"Then why are you getting so upset?" he asked. "Is it because Kuriboh's are supposed to be weak? Is it because they are supposed to be helpless, and unable to fight?"

"No, it's not that…" Kokuro began.

"You can save it Kokuro," Fuuten said crossing his arms. "I know that you are just being polite. But in reality, you're upset because your powerful magicians are being brought down by defenseless little fur balls."

"Knock it off Fuuten!" Kokuro called out. "No one degrades my magician's like that!"

"So then why are you degrading my Kuriboh's?" Fuuten shot back.

Kokuro was stunned, as was Setsuna; Kazuki just watched the two duelists stand there.

"I…I'm not…" Kokuro began.

"You are," Fuuten said. "Kuriboh's aren't supposed to be powerful, they aren't supposed to be able to win. They are considered weak, and I'm considered weak for using them. Before this duel began I heard everyone I passed by saying that the fluff balls wouldn't stand a chance against the masters of magic. How do you think that made me felt?"

"…terrible," Kokuro said looking down.

"That's right," Fuuten said. "But you know what?" Kokuro didn't respond. "Alright, I'll just tell you then. I remember that I have the ability to show them differently. Just like you did when you first came here against Professor Hikari. When you came here you came with the intention of remembering that it was a game right?"

"Yeah," Kokuro said looking up.

"Then that's all you have to remember," Fuuten said smiling. "Sometimes your favorite cards will be destroyed, sometimes they have to go to the graveyard. My Kuribohs go to the graveyard a lot, and in a lot of ways I think that's what keeps me in check. So just remember, they may be going to the graveyard now, but they'll still be with you after the duel is over, and they won't like you any less because they got sent there."

Kokuro looked down at his duel disk and smiled, "You know what Fuuten? You're absolutely right."

"Of course I am," he said laughing. "If I wasn't I wouldn't have said it. Now why don't you go ahead and take your turn."

Kokuro nodded, "Right," he said drawing.

"That was so sweet of Fuuten," Setsuna said smiling happily.

'Always helping others Fuuten,' Kazuki said smiling. 'You truly are a great person,' his face got serious, 'but even so, you don't have the thing I'm looking for in a duelist.'

"Usually I'm against being greedy," Kokuro said, "But I'll make an exception when it comes to pots." He played his Pot of Greed and drew two cards. "What do ya know? Greed _is _good. I summon Skilled White Magician," he said as his white robed magician appeared on the field with its staff in between its arms. "Skilled White Magician, attack Kuribabylon!" The magician brought its staff forward and a white magical blast flew out of it striking down the oversized Kuriboh destroying it."

"Don't worry about it Kuribabylon," Fuuten said taking the card off the disk as his Life points fell. (5550) "We'll make it up to him."

"I guess we'll have to see you make it up to me in just a couple of seconds, seeing as how I end my turn now," Kokuro said grinning.

"Awesome," Fuuten said drawing his card. "And a Kuriboh Calling Flute will work just fine," he said playing the spell card as the small Kuriboh with wings appeared on the field letting out a small cry. (300/200)

"It's a small defense but a defense none the less," Kokuro commented.

"Except Hane Kuriboh isn't here as defense," Fuuten said taking another card from his hand.

"What?" Kokuro asked surprised.

"I offer up Hane Kuriboh to summon Kuriboh General once more," Fuuten announced as the small Kuriboh vanished and the army-like Kuriboh reappeared on the field. (2000/1500) "And this time I will activate his effect," Fuuten stated as his Life Points went down. (4550) "And this allows me to summon my three Kuriboh Soldiers!" he called out as the three sword wielding Kuriboh's appeared on the field let out squeals as the girls all cried out in delight. (1500/700 x3)

"Uh oh," Kokuro nervously said.

"Uh oh is right," Fuuten nodded. "Kuriboh General, attack!" The General flew over toward Kokuro who suddenly cracked another grin.

"Sorry Fuuten," he said as his Magic Cylinder trap revealed itself. "But I often times wanted to be an actor, and occasionally still do." The General flew through one of the cylinders and came out the other slashing Fuuten across the chest. (2550)

"You've got me in a spot," Fuuten said standing up from being knocked down, "I've got to end my turn."

"Fine," Kokuro said drawing his card and looking at it. "One on guard," he said a horizontal card appeared on his side of the field. "And Skilled White will also be taking a defensive stance." Skilled White put its staff out in front of it as it kneeled down. "That's my move," he said.

"I doubt it's an act still," Fuuten said drawing his card. "I'll set this card face down," he announced as the card appeared. "Now, let's try this again, Kuriboh General, attack Skilled White Magician!" The General once more flew towards the magician, but unlike last time, it was successful in knocking down its adversary. "Kuriboh Soldier, attack his face down monster!" One of the Kuriboh Soldiers charged at the face down card and tried to slash it in half. Blast Magician's (1400/1700) scepter knocked back the soldier's sword and used the dull part of its scythe to knock it backwards.

Kuriboh Soldier's sword went spinning backwards and hit Fuuten in the foot as the owner ran over and picked it up again. (2350) "Looks like my Blast Magician was more than enough of a match to knock that Kuriboh back," Kokuro said smiling.

"I suppose," Fuuten said petting the soldier before it flew back towards the others. "My turn is over."

Kokuro drew his Sages Stone card and put it into his hand, "one on guard and end."

Fuuten drew his card and smiled when he saw it, 'My most powerful Kuriboh…too bad Kokuro won't get to witness it this duel.' He added his powerful card to his hand and then commanded the attack on Blast Magician with Kuriboh General. The General destroyed the Blast Magician causing Kokuro to become anxious. "Go Kuriboh Soldier, attack the face down monster!"

Apprentice Magician was revealed just in time to be on the receiving end of the soldier's sword. "I search my deck for my next Apprentice Magician," he said taking the card and setting the magician on guard.

"Twice more my other soldiers!" Fuuten announced. The first soldier wiped out the second Apprentice Magician as Kokuro took the last one. The final Apprentice was knocked out and Kokuro retrieved an Old Vindictive Magician to set down. "Over to you."

"Fuuten's in a bit of a tight spot isn't he?" Setsuna asked.

"With low Life Points while Kokuro has a good amount still left, you bet he's in a tough spot," Kazuki agreed. "However, Fuuten has four monsters while Kokuro has one. Although with that Old Magician on the field, the numbers will change soon enough. Kokuro has gotten lucky pulling defensive magicians so far, but his defenses won't last forever."

"So you think that Fuuten still has a chance then," Setsuna asked.

"Yes," Kazuki said. "As long as he plays all his cards right, and depending on Kokuro's next draw, which we are about to see."

Setsuna looked over to see the card in Kokuro's drawing hand being played onto the field, "Spear Dragon to attack mode," Kokuro said as his blue and white dragon appeared on the field. (1900/0) "Spear Dragon, attack a Soldier!" The dragon let out a swirling wind from its beak blowing away a soldier, slamming it into a wall shattering it.

Fuuten watched as the Spear Dragon took a defensive stance as his Life Points fell. (1950) "You done?" Kokuro nodded and Fuuten drew his card. "Well, let's see what I can do, Kuriboh Soldier, attack Spear Dragon!" The tiny soldier flew towards the dragon slashing it in half blowing it to pieces once the halves separated. "Now then, Kuriboh General, attack Old Mage!" The brave Kuriboh charged the old magician that had appeared. In a clash of swords and staffs, the two monsters were shattered into pixels.

"Why didn't Kokuro destroy the Kuriboh Soldier?" Setsuna asked. "He would have saved himself from a direct attack."

"That's true, but you have to remember, it's much easier to draw a four star monster that can take down a 1500 point creature than it is a 2000 point creature," Kazuki explained. "Kokuro has been thinking more strategically ever since the Diffusion-Wave Motion incident."

"Kuriboh Soldier, attack the player!" The soldier flew over and slashed Kokuro across the chest knocking him down as his Life Points fell a good number. (1950) "Turn end," Fuuten said. "I find it funny, we both have the same amount of Life Points.

"True," Kokuro said standing up and drawing. "But let's see what Double Spell gives me," he said playing the Spell Card. "And by discarding Sages Stone, I'll use Pot of Averice," he said taking Hane Kuriboh, Black Magician Girl, Pikeru, Fire Princess, and Skilled White Magician from his graveyard and shuffling them back into his deck. "Time for my draws," he said pulling two cards.

"Get what you need?" Fuuten asked.

"Yes," Kokuro said smiling. "It's been a good duel, but Cost Down is going to finish it for me." He discarded a card from his hand and then took another card and placed it on his Duel Disk. "Let's give another round of applause for the famous Black Magician Girl!" he announced as the Magician Girl reappeared on the field, smiling as she looked at Fuuten. "I take it this means she's not upset at you," he chuckled.

"I guess not," he said smiling but a little confused. "Even though she's on the field, how will she win it for you?"

"Simple," Kokuro said revealing his Riryoku.

"Well, I guess that would do it for you," Fuuten said chuckling. He kind of chuckled as he looked over at his Kuriboh Soldier, "Well, I guess there is no stopping it," he said.

"I guess so," Kokuro replied as he activated Riryoku. Black Magician Girl got stronger as Kuriboh Soldier got weaker, "Go Black Magician Girl, attack with Advanced Black Magic!" The Magician Girl twirled her staff causing it to collect energy; once she stopped it flew towards the soldier blowing it to pieces as Fuuten's Life Points were depleted. (0)

"Good game," Fuuten said smiling as he walked over and extended his hand.

"Thanks, it was," Kokuro said accepting it. All the girls in the audience cheered for Fuuten, even though he had lost.

"Bet you're glad Mia and Sonomi aren't here aren't you?" Fuuten laughed joking.

"Yeah that would be pretty embarrassing," he said laughing before looking down. 'That's right…' Kokuro thought thinking back. 'Sonomi ran off, I hope she's alright.'


	27. A Love Hate Past

Sdrive: Another day, another chapter. By the way, there is some pretty strong languge in this chapter, if you feel the rating should be bummped up, tell me and I'll do so. Thanks.

* * *

'There's no way,' Sonomi was thinking to herself. 'It's not possible, I would have known if she were here.'

"Sonomi!" Mia called out. "Wait up!"

Sonomi didn't hear her and kept running. Her thoughts were being overturned in her head. 'Why would she even bother coming to the Academy? Wait, that's a stupid question, the answer is obvious. She came to get better.' Sonomi got to her arena and looked across to see her opponent was already standing there.

Her opponent stared right at her with her ruby eyes. Her black bangs hung down on the sides of her face while the rest of her hair went straight down her back stopping midway. She looked to be a little on the short side and had a cute, but determined, face. Mia caught up and tried to catch her breath, "What's going on?" she asked in between breaths.

"My opponent," Sonomi began a little stunned, "Katsu Ayama."

"Wait…isn't Katsu that girl with the Masked Beast Des Guardius?" Mia asked.

"So, Sonomi has been telling people about me hmm?" Katsu asked grinning.

"Well, she told us how she helped you," Mia replied.

"Yes, she did help me," Katsu said closing her eyes. "She saved my best card on that day, and risked her entire deck in the process. Just to help me, a practical no one in the dueling world," her eyes then opened and narrowed, "and now I'm going to return the favor."

"And just how do you plan on doing that?" Sonomi asked.

"By defeating you in a duel," Katsu replied smirking.

"How is that going to help return the favor?" Mia asked getting a little riled up from the confusion within her.

"It's simple," Katsu said smiling. "I idolize her."

"You idolize me?" Sonomi asked a little disgusted.

"Yes," Katsu said smiling at her, catching Sonomi off guard. "You are my favorite duelist. Whenever you duel, I cheer the loudest for you, when you lost to Samé, I cried for you. All because of our past, and the way you helped me."

Sonomi wasn't as disgusted, but she was definitely confused, "So, if you idolize me, then why do you want to defeat me in a duel?"

"To show you that I no longer need your help," Katsu said, her face determined once more. "By defeating you, I prove to you that I no longer need protection; that I'm good enough to overcome the person who saved my rarest card."

"This is crazy," Mia said in the background. "You say you cried when Kokuro defeated her, and yet you're going to try to defeat her. It makes no sense. If this wasn't a tournament I'd say that Sonomi probably wouldn't even…"

"I accept this challenge," Sonomi said as her deck went to her Duel Disk unfolding it.

"…you do?" Mia asked.

"Although I hate the idea of being idolized, I see where you're coming from Katsu," Sonomi said grinning at her. "You're doing this more to prove to _yourself_ that you don't need my help, not to prove it to me. But by defeating me, you'll feel more confident in yourself. I know what it feels like to need to prove yourself to yourself against someone," she glanced over at Mia.

"Good," Katsu said smiling, as she shuffled her deck and inserted it into her Duel Disk causing it to unfold. 'I can't believe she accepted the duel,' Katsu thought happily. 'Yay.'

They waited for the announcement to start the duel and then Sonomi drew her sixth card. "I figure if you're going to prove yourself to me, you might as well have the first attack, but by doing that I get the first _turn_. So to begin our duel I'll summon Flame Ruler." A muscular, blue haired man wearing a red cloak appeared on the field. (1500/1600) "Now, I set two cards under the table," she placed the cards in the disk and watched them appear on the field. "My turn is over," she smirked at Katsu. 'Just because she needs to prove her own worth doesn't mean I'm going to allow her to win. My Gravity Bind will stop whatever monster she summons to try to stop my Flame Ruler.'

"It's my turn," Katsu said drawing as she took in a deep breath. 'Here we go. I can do this, I've watched all of her duels, I know all her strategies.' She took in another deep breath before beginning her turn. "I summon Copycat," Katsu said playing the monster on the disk. A clown wearing a blue cape and green gloves holding a mirror in front of its face appeared on the field. (0/0)

"What is that thing?" Sonomi asked.

"This is Copycat," Katsu explained. "It copies the attack and defense of any monster on your side of the field, and since you only have one, I'll copy Flame Ruler." Flame Ruler appeared in Copycat's mirror before the monster began to shift its shape until it looked like a replica of Flame ruler. (1500/1600)

"Does this mean it also gets Flame Ruler's ability?" Sonomi asked.

"No, just its attack and defense," Katsu replied.

"It's a standoff," Mia said looking at the two identical Flame Rulers.

"Not for long," Katsu said taking another card in her hand and putting it into the disk. "Copycat, attack Flame Ruler!"

"What are you doing?" Sonomi asked her as the two Flame Rulers fired balls of fire at each other. They collided in the middle causing a tornado of fire around them. The fire finally died down and only one Flame Ruler remained, and it walked back over to Katsu's side of the field.

Sonomi was amazed as her Life Points fell, (7250) "What happened?" she demanded.

"The card I activated was a rare card known as Shrink," Katsu said smirking. "It cuts the attack of one monster on the field by half, so obviously I cut the attack power of your Flame Ruler."

"Impressive," Sonomi smirked watching as a small kindle of fire sat underneath Katsu. It suddenly blew up causing Katsu to scream in surprise as the flames engulfed her.

"What happened?" Katsu asked scared as the flames ended as quickly as they came. (7500)

"You're not the only one who can play dirty," Sonomi said still smirking. "My face down Backfire activated when you destroyed my Flame Ruler, and dealt you 500 points of damage; and it will continue to do that each time you destroy a Fire attribute monster."

Katsu smiled, "This is why I admire you Sonomi. Even when you are caught off guard you recover just as quickly."

"You seemed to recover pretty quickly yourself," Sonomi pointed out.

"I have to if I'm going to beat you," she smiled again. Her smile turned into determination once more, "I'll set three cards under the table and end my turn," she announced as the three cards appeared face down.

'Three cards,' Sonomi thought amazed. 'And I thought I was the only one who packed a lot of traps.' Sonomi drew her card and added it to her hand. 'I'll use this later, but for now I think this is in order,' she took another card from her hand and set it on the field. "One monster on guard and my turn is done."

Katsu drew her card and put it on her disk, "I'll also set a monster on guard," she said as her card appeared. "Copycat, attack her on guard monster with Mimic Move!" The "Flame Ruler" let out a stream of fire from its hands and burnt the face down card to a crisp. A turtle with a metal device on it that looked like an alien spacecraft appeared before being destroyed. (1400/1200)

"You destroyed my UFO Turtle," Sonomi smirked. "This allows me to take a Fire Monster from my deck to the field in attack mode, and I choose Solar Flare Dragon." The fiery snake creature appeared on the field growling at Katsu viciously. (1500/1000) "And don't forget that Backfire activates again, taking away another 500 Life Points."

The flame began to start underneath Katsu again but she jumped away and a blackboard eraser appeared in her hand. She threw it at the flame and the chalk cloud smothered the flame.

"What was _that_?" Mia asked confused.

"That was my Trap of Board Eraser," Katsu said going over and picking up the eraser. "This card negates non-battle damage I would take from a card and then afterwards I can force you to discard a card from your hand." She threw the eraser at Sonomi and it exploded into a cloud of chalk dust causing Sonomi to start choking. "The dust won't go away until you discard a card," Katsu said.

Sonomi took Thestalos from her hand and slid it into the graveyard. The chalk dust finally vanished and she was able to breathe easier again, "that was an annoying card," she said looking at the eraser on the ground. She was about to step on it in annoyance but it vanished.

"My turn is over," Katsu said.

"Good," Sonomi said drawing her card. "Now, watch your field closely, I doubt you'll like what you see."

Katsu stared at her field in confusion when suddenly her two monsters vanished. "NO!" she cried out. "Not Lava Golem!" As she guessed, a large cage came crashing down over her and she could feel the immense heat of the lava creature consume her.

"Yes, and now Lava Golem will slowly take you down Katsu. Sorry, but I don't plan on letting you win this duel, it is a tournament after all."

"I don't want any charity cases anyway," Katsu said determined. "I'm going to defeat you without your help."

"Well good luck," Sonomi said almost sarcastically. "I switch Solar Flare Dragon on guard and end my turn. This of course activates my Solar Flare Dragon's special ability causing you to lose 500 Life Points." The fiery monster formed a fire ball that it spit out at Katsu causing her to yell out as her Life Points fell. (7000)

"I draw," Katsu said as she pulled her card. She shrieked out in pain as she felt the scolding hot lava fall onto her back. (6000)

"I bet you wish you still had your eraser," Sonomi said crossing her arms.

"I'll do without it," Katsu said standing weakly. "I switch Lava Golem to attack mode and then I summon Melchid the Four-Face Beast." A creature made of four evil looking masks appeared on the field spinning around. (1500/1200)

'Melchid?' Sonomi thought to herself. 'So she's still using Masked Beast, I should have known.'

"Now I send Melchid to attack your Solar Flare Dragon!" Katsu commanded.

"I'm afraid not," Sonomi said as her Gravity Bind revealed itself. The energy field ran across the field holding Melchid to the ground and making it very hard for the Lava Golem to stand.

"I have no choice but to end my turn," Katsu said sadly.

"Then it's my turn," Sonomi said drawing her card. "I summon a second Solar Flare Dragon," Sonomi said as another flaming snake appeared on the field. (1500/1000) "You can't attack with monsters that have levels that are higher than three, if you do draw a level three monster you can't attack my Solar Flare Dragons, and all the while you'll slowly lose Life Points as my Lava Golem drips its magma on you. You're in lock, and I have the key. I suggest surrendering."

"Never!" Katsu shouted at Sonomi startling her. "You've never given up!" Katsu exclaimed. "Not once! I look up to you, and I try to be as confident as you; that's why I'm not going to give up either."

"I can see you're in pain, I'm trying to spare you from suffering under constant attacks due to the Solar Flare Dragon and the Lava Golem. Getting hit by a fire ball and then immediately getting scolding hot magma on your back, it has to be painful!"

"Its hell," Katsu said shaking, a tear drop fell onto the bottom of the cage, evaporating. She looked up with a smile on her face, the tear streak running down her face, "but I'll endure it. I'll endure it to defeat you."

'I've never seen such emotion in one of Sonomi's duels,' Mia thought looking between the two with a worried look on her face. 'Usually when she pulls off this combo she revels in the fact that her opponent is suffering. But this girl has actually caused Sonomi to try to get her to forfeit, to save her the pain. Even more, her opponent is happy that she's suffering.' She looked over towards Katsu. 'If anything, a duelist usually feels anger at this combo. They get angry because they know they are good duelists, but they are halted by Sonomi's aggressive playing." She turned back to Sonomi, 'It causes them to be aggressive and it almost seems as though Sonomi gets more of a pleasure watching them fall," she finally took one last glance over at Katsu. "But Katsu is happy that she's facing the wrath of Sonomi's deck. Why? And why does Sonomi even care enough to try to get her to forfeit?'

Sonomi stared at Katsu.

* * *

"_You're nothing to me," a child Sonomi angrily said to the Rouge Hunter. "You have no business being here, and quite frankly your dueling sucks."_

"_I'll show you whose dueling sucks you little bitch!" the Rouge Hunter shot back; he was nearly 3 feet taller than his opponent and wearing all black and wielding a Battle City Duel Disk. Yet the small girl named Sonomi, adorned in the maroon vest with the logo of the Kijin School for Girls on the left, a dark blue skirt and also wielding a Battle City Duel Disk, stared down at her opponent, arms crossed, unafraid._

"_Didn't your mom ever tell you to watch your mouth around girls?" Sonomi smirked. Off to her left a little was the young Katsu, watching Sonomi intently and almost shivering in fright while six other students stood behind her, watching their brave duelist._

"_I killed my mother when I was 13," the Rogue Hunter said smugly. "And when I'm done here and I take your cards, I'll kill you too."_

_The other girls gasped in fright as Katsu fell to the ground trembling. Unknown to the duelists, one of the six girls behind them had made an escape to go tell a teacher. "Well it will suck for you when you don't beat me," Sonomi said, still unafraid. "I'll finish my turn with a card under the table, then its back to you."_

_The Rouge Hunter drew his card and smirked, "time to send you to hell. I activate my face down Zero Gravity. Now all face up monsters change their battle positions," he watched as his Hannibal Necromancer and his Dark Catapulter moved on guard as Sonomi's Raging Flame Sprite, Solar Flare Dragon, and Gearfried the Iron Knight moved from attack on guard. "Now I sacrifice my Hannibal Necromancer and my Dark Catapulter to summon my Black Tyranno!" he announced as the huge dinosaur monster appeared on the field roaring loudly._

"_That monster can attack Sonomi since all her monsters are on guard," one of the girls in the back said frightened._

"_Sonomi…" Katsu said weakly._

"_Wipe this bitch out!" he commanded his dinosaur. The large creature ran towards Sonomi and swung itself around, causing its tail to whip around about to strike Sonomi. She calmly moved her finger to her Duel Disk pressing a button. A swirling vortex created a barrier blocking the tail from striking her._

"_Negate Attack ends your battle phase," she said calmly._

"_I'll get you on the next turn," he said angrily, "Go."_

"_There is no next turn for you," she said picking up her card. "This sorry excuse for a duel ends immediately." She calmly took two cards off her disk and replaced them with another. "I sacrifice Gearfried and Solar Flare Dragon for the Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys." She said as her flaming phoenix with human like features appeared on the field roaring loudly. (2400/1600) "Now I activate Salamandra," she said placing the card into the disk. She winced in pain as her card appeared on the field and Curse of Darkness forced it to shoot her with electricity causing her Life Points to fall. (5700) She grinned as a fiery sword appeared in the phoenix's hand. (3100/1600) "I move Raging Flame Sprite to attack mode," she said as her small sprite took an offensive stance, "Raging Flame Sprite attack this fool!" The Sprite released a ball of fire that blasted the Rogue Hunter in his chest dropping his Life Points. (500) "Sacred Phoenix, finish this loser off, destroy his primitive fossil!"_

_The phoenix blasted a stream of fire that took the form of a flaming salamander and struck the dinosaur down burning it to a crisp, the Rogue Hunter cried out in fear as he got struck by the remaining fire. (0)_

"_You lose," Sonomi said annoyed at the duel. "Not that it surprises me," she added._

"_Damn you," the Rogue Hunter muttered. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a switch blade and made a run for Sonomi. Sonomi took a defensive stance but before he got to her a shot was heard and the Rogue Hunter let out a scream as he fell to the ground. The girls looked past where the hunter had been standing and saw a police force running up, one with a gun smoking, and they began to cuff the Rogue Hunter._

_Sonomi smirked as she walked over and relieved the Hunter of his Duel Disk before the cops carried him off. She pulled the cards out of it and walked over to Katsu. She bent down and handed the cards to her, face up so that Masked Beast Des Guardius was facing her. "Here, take them."_

"_You're just giving me this?" Katsu asked._

"_I don't need it," she said simply as she stood up and walked off towards the school._

* * *

_The next day Sonomi walked up towards the school in her uniform, after being dropped off by her mother. As she walked over towards the large building she saw Katsu standing by the gate, looking nervous. "Umm, hi Sonomi," she said barely audible._

"_Good morning," Sonomi uncaringly said walking past._

_Katsu turned and followed her, "Do you want me to help carry your things?" Katsu asked._

"_I'm fine," came the same uncaring reply._

"_Oh…well, see you at lunch," she said waving._

_Lunch time rolled around and Sonomi soon found out that Katsu's lunchtime remark was meant literally. She was sitting alone at a lunch table, like she always did. She took a forkful of her mashed potatos as Katsu sat down with her tray. "I always thought the mashed potato's tasted strange," Katsu said weakly, trying to make conversation._

_An eye glance over at her caused Sonomi's fork to stop halfway, "You're kidding right?" she said semi-annoyed. "The food here is some of the best anywhere." Katsu looked like she was going to say something but couldn't find the words. "More importantly why are you sitting here anyway?"_

"_Well, you always sit alone, I thought I would give you some company," came the nervous reply._

"_I enjoy eating alone," Sonomi said annoyed._

"_I…I'm sorry," Katsu said as she began to get up._

"_Sit down," Sonomi said startling Katsu. "Most of the tables are taken by now anyway, you'll never find a spot before recess." Katsu nervously sat down again and quietly stared at her lunch._

_At recess Katsu had followed Sonomi out on the playground. Sonomi was sitting on one of the swings going back and forth as she flipped through her Duel Monster cards. Katsu had come and started swinging on the swing next to her, watching her as she went back and forth. Sonomi took an annoyed glance before quickly going back down to her cards._

_For the rest of the day Katsu followed Sonomi around until finally Sonomi had had enough, "Why do you keep following me?"_

"_You almost lost your life helping me," Katsu said shaking. "I want to repay you by being your friend."_

"_I don't want you to be my friend," Sonomi said angrily. "I want you to leave me alone. I didn't get your card back because I liked you; I got it back because that guy was a no talent freak who picked on bad duelists. If I had known you would have followed me around all day afterwards I would have just let him take it."_

"_You're always alone," Katsu said quietly. "You look sad," she said this time so that Sonomi couldn't hear her. "It's not any fun if you're always alone."_

"_I like being alone," Sonomi said angrily. "Leave me alone." Sonomi turned to leave._

"_How can you be happy being alone?" Katsu yelled grabbing her shoulder. Sonomi spun around shoving her to the ground._

"_I don't want your kindness, I don't want your company, and I don't want your friendship," Sonomi said with venom in her voice. She stared down at the crying girl on the ground, 'maybe now she'll finally leave me alone.' She turned to leave but didn't get far when she felt another hand on her shoulder once again. She turned around to see Katsu, tear streaks running down her face, standing behind her. Her eyes widened, she couldn't believe timid Katsu had the nerve to get up and grab her again._

"_Are you going to shove me down again?" Katsu asked, looking at her with courage that Sonomi didn't know she had. She just stood there for a second, taking in what was happening. "You can shove me down again," Katsu said as another tear fell from her eye. "And then you can shove me after that when I grab you _again_. But eventually you're going to get tired of shoving me, because I'm not going to stop coming._

_Sonomi stared at her in amazement, no one had dared ever try to approach Sonomi unless they wanted a duel. Her face went back to her usual stare before turning around softly and walking away. Katsu followed after her but didn't grab her this time, she just walked behind her._

_For the next two weeks, the same sequence of events would happen over and over between the two. Katsu would meet Sonomi at the gate, they would say good morning, and then the rest of the day Katsu would silently follow behind Sonomi while Sonomi ignored her. They would eat lunch in silence, and they would go out and sit on the swings in silence. _

_Finally one morning Sonomi walked towards the gate, just as always, but Katsu wasn't waiting for her. She got to class to see Katsu in her seat reading a book. Though instead of asking why Katsu wasn't at the gate, Sonomi just walked to her seat ignoring her. Katsu made no attempts to approach Sonomi ever again. However whenever Sonomi was in a duel she would catch a glimpse of Katsu watching her intently, though she never acted on it._

* * *

Mia watched Sonomi and she could tell that Sonomi was about to do something, 'Sonomi's going to try to get Katsu to forfeit again.'

"I end my turn." Sonomi announced.

'What!' Mia thought in surprise.

The two Solar Flare Dragons began to gather fire in their mouths for another fireball onslaught. "I activate Karma Cut!" Katsu announced as her trap card revealed itself.

"Karma Cut?" Sonomi asked.

"By discarding one card from my hand, I can remove one monster on your side of the field from play, and if you have any of the same monster in the graveyard, they are also removed. So I discard Zombra the Dark to remove your on guard Solar Flare Dragon.

One of the Solar Flare Dragons was ripped in half by an invisible force before a vortex appeared sucking in the two halves of the dragon. The other finished gathering its fireball and blasted it at Katsu slamming her back into the scolding hot cage. (5500)

She slowly stood up and drew her card, "It's my turn."

"Lava Golem's effect activates," Sonomi said, her voice devoid of emotion.

The large magma creature began to ooze parts of its arm off causing the intense lava to fall onto Katsu causing her to scream once more as she fell to the ground. (4500)

"Are you ok?" Mia called out to her.

She weakly stood up, "I'll be fine. I activate Pot of Greed," she said as the green pot appeared on the field and she drew two cards. The jar shattered and she looked down at her two cards. She looked up at Sonomi, and smiled, "I'm going to win."

"Then by all means go ahead and try," Sonomi replied.

"I activate Mystical Space Typhoon," Katsu said fitting the card into the disk. "With it I destroy your Gravity Bind." A mighty wind came roaring through the field tearing the energy field to shreds allowing Melchid and Lava Golem to move freely once more. "Now, I sacrifice Melchid _and _Lava Golem to summon the very card that started it all!"

Sonomi's eyes widened while Mia looked worried. 'It can't be,' Mia thought.

The cage around Katsu crumbled as Lava Golem and Melchid both vanished, and then standing behind Katsu came an enormously tall monster, standing on four legs, carrying a long staff, and with masks covering its entire body. "By sacrificing Melchid and one other monster, I've successfully summoned Masked Beast Des Guardius!" Katsu announced as the giant creature let out an unearthly roar. (3300/2500)

"Sonomi be careful!" Mia called out.

"Masked Beast, destroy her Solar Flare Dragon!" The large beast raised its staff as every eye hole on all its masks began to glow red. The mask on the staff glowed as well before a red beam of energy fired from the mask's mouth piece. The beam struck the dragon blowing it to pieces as the rest of the attack hit Sonomi causing her to grunt in pain. (5450)

"Don't forget that my Backfire activates since you destroyed a Fire monster," Sonomi reminded her as flames surrounded Katsu once again as her Life Points fell. (4000)

"I didn't forget," Katsu said once the flames died down. "My turn is over."

"Good," Sonomi said drawing her card. "I activate the continuous spell Dark Room of Nightmare. Now every time one of us takes non-battle damage Dark Room of Nightmare will cause us to lose another 300 points of damage. I set a monster on guard and end my turn."

"Fine by me," Katsu said drawing her card. "You won't be around long enough for it to matter anyway. I summon Zombra the Dark!" she announced as the old comic book hero appeared on the field, with his black cape of justice flowing behind him. (2100/500) "Zombra, destroy her defense monster! Fist of Justice!" With one jump Zombra came down on Sonomi's monster punching it. The small baseball kid that Sonomi had hidden was instantly destroyed. Zombra jumped back over to Katsu as his attack points weakened. (1900/500) "Zombra loses 200 attack points every time it destroys a monster," she explained.

"I'm aware of what Zombra does," Sonomi said. "And as you should remember, my Ultimate Baseball Kid is also a monster of Fire." The flames engulfed Katsu right before the Dark Room card glowed purple causing Katsu to also glow purple making her scream in pain. (3200) "Now since there's no way to get around it, make your next attack."

Shaking off the pain, Katsu obliged, "Masked Beast, attack Sonomi directly!" she demanded as the demon rose its staff once more, however this time Sonomi was on the receiving end of the dark red energy blast.

"Sonomi!" Mia called out as Sonomi was shoved to the ground and slid back a little. (2150)

"Once more," Katsu said breathing heavily. "Once more, and I'll have proven myself."

"Don…don't count on it," Sonomi said standing up. "I'm not out of this yet. You can shove me down again, but I'll come back to grab you again," she said breathing just as hard.

Katsu looked shocked for a second before smiling and then going back to her determined look, "I accept that challenge. Your move."

Sonomi drew her card and glanced at it before placing it in her disk, "One under the table and it's over to you."

'If that card isn't something that can save her then Sonomi will lose during this next turn!' Mia thought worried.

Katsu drew her card and looked at it, 'I won't need this,' she thought to herself. "As you know, Zombra can't attack your Life Points directly, but it won't matter anyway. Masked Beast Des Guardius, attack Sonomi! Masked Death Blast!" The demon's staff rose and the eyes all over the masks glowed red as the beam of energy went flying right for Sonomi.

"Sonomi no!" Mia called out.

"Reverse Draining Shield!" Sonomi called out as a barrier appeared in front of her. The energy hit the barrier causing sparkles to come from it and surround Sonomi. (5450) "I told you I'm not out of this yet."

"I wouldn't expect anything less," Katsu smiled. She looked at the Graceful Charity card in her hand, 'I've been wrong before,' she said taking the card she had drawn. "I activate Graceful Charity. This allows me to draw three cards as long as I discard two afterwards." An angel appeared and blessed Katsu's deck allowing her to draw three cards. She took two of them without even looking and sent them immediately to the graveyard.

'Why'd she do that without even looking at them?' Mia wondered.

"Reverse Disgraceful Charity," Katsu said as one of her face down cards flipped. "This card allows me to return all cards I discarded this turn to my hand," she explained. "So it didn't matter which cards I had discarded since I would be getting them back once again." Another angel appeared, however this one was black with darker skin. It cursed Katsu's graveyard making it spit out the two cards she had just put into it.

"Impressive play," Sonomi admitted. "You really have gotten better."

"I came here so that I could learn how to duel better so that I could duel you one day; imagine my surprise when I found out you had enrolled the same year I had."

"I'm surprised you didn't come find me," Sonomi admitted.

"I wasn't ready to face you; my skills weren't even in the same galaxy as yours. So I watched you and cheered you on while I learned how to take you down all at the same time. I don't care what you thought of me in the past, you were always my hero. But after a while I realized that just by following you silently wouldn't allow you to see how thankful I truly was. So I left you alone so I could spend more time studying how to duel. I realized the only way to get you to truly accept me, in any way, would be to duel you."

'It sounds like these two really had a history,' Mia thought, 'Beyond just rescuing her card.'

"While I watched you I saw that you had finally accepted someone as your friend," Katsu said turning to Mia for a moment while Sonomi only quickly glanced before they locked eyes again. "I don't know what Mia has that I lacked, but I'm glad for you."

"The difference was that I got to know Mia by being her roommate and through her dueling. The first day of actual classes, Jukata-Sensei had us all duel someone. One kid talked her down and convinced her to duel in the hallway so that she wouldn't be humiliated. Shortly afterwards she came back in the room to tell Jukata-Sensei of her victory. She intrigued me to say the least. A timid girl who I mostly ignored my first two days at the academy beat a jerk in no time flat."

'Is…is that really why Sonomi became my friend?' Mia asked herself.

"The next time Mia was set to duel, I asked if I could watch," Sonomi said. "She was excessively happy to have me watch, and I got to see her deck for the first time in action. It was an amazing duel." Sonomi smiled, "She played perfectly, someone so timid and shy, and she played as if she didn't have a fear in the world. However when she came over to me after the duel and asked me how she did, I was speechless."

"Why?" Katsu asked.

"Because she had played so well and she wanted _my _opinion. I told her that she did really well and she gave me that smile and peace sign of hers." Mia couldn't help but smile at the memory of when she did that with Sonomi. "After that we began talking and, although she had different views on dueling, I realized that she was a good person and if she was going to be my roommate I might as well be her friend as well. Even though I was quite distant a while after our friendship began, I soon came around and we became inseparable. And I'm quite glad that it happened," she said looking over at Mia and smiling.

Mia smiled back at Sonomi, 'I don't think that's entirely true though Sonomi,' she thought. 'I think, strange as it might sound, we were destined to be friends. We needed each other back then, it wasn't just your curiosity in my dueling skills. You needed a friend more than anything. I may not know entirely what happened to you in the past, but I know that you needed a friend. Even then though we were still missing something,' an image of Kokuro came into her mind, 'we were missing the connecting link.'

"So, you only liked her due to her dueling?" Katsu asked.

"Watching her duel was the icebreaker for me," Sonomi told her. "You had powerful cards, but you had no strategy. Had that Rogue Hunter never attacked our school we wouldn't be in this situation today. As I told you back then, I only helped out because that guy tried to steal your card, I didn't do it because I wanted to be your friend."

"What happened to wanting to be alone then?" Katsu asked.

"You've slept in the Osiris Dorms, there is no alone there," Sonomi replied. "You have no choice but to share a room with someone." Sonomi paused a minute, 'Well, I suppose according to Kokuro, if you're Ritsuzen Nushi you have a choice. Then again, he has that tutor guy in there with him.'

"I guess even then you had to be forced to spend time with someone," Katsu said. She shook her head, "It doesn't matter. I'm not here to be your friend, I'm here to take you down. So I'll conclude my turn by setting two cards under the table." The two cards appeared in front of her and Sonomi began her turn.

"I set one monster on guard and end my turn," she said as the facedown monster appeared.

Katsu drew her card, "I set one card under the table," she said setting the card. "Now that you have a monster on the field, Zombra can attack again, and he will!" The warrior leaped forward and punched the UFO Turtle that appeared shattering it.

"Not only do I search for my final UFO Turtle and your Zombra loses another 200 attack points, (1700/500) but you also lose 800 Life Points due to Backfire and Dark Room of Nightmare."

Katsu glowed purple as the flames engulfed her as she cried out in pain. (2400) Once it was over she saw that the last UFO Turtle had appeared, "I'm not allowing you to stall out again," Katsu muttered. "Reverse Ring of Destruction!"

"Crap," Sonomi muttered as a large ring appeared around her UFO Turtle's neck with grenades hanging out of it. "We'll each take 1700 points of damage," Sonomi pointed out.

"No, just you," Katsu announced as her other face down reversed. "My Ring of Defense will keep me safe. Sorry Sonomi." The grenades exploded destroying the turtle as Sonomi was engulfed in flame and then glowed purple due to the Dark Door knocking her to the ground once more. (3750) The Ring of Defense unfolded and began spinning rapidly keeping the explosion at bay.

"She had all these powerful cards and she was a bad duelist?" Mia asked appalled.

Sonomi slowly stood up, "She didn't have a lot of these cards to begin with, but her family is very wealthy so it's not surprising that she has them now. That is how she got Masked Beast after all."

"And speaking of Masked Beast, let's hope you didn't forget about him! ATTACK!" she called out as the red energy beam struck Sonomi knocking her back down again. (450) "My turn is over."

Sonomi could barely stand, she was having difficulty breathing too. She slowly drew her card and looked at it. "I'm not giving up," Sonomi said. "If you won't give up in this duel, then it would be foolish for me to. One card under the table, go."

"I never expected you to give up Sonomi," Katsu said smiling. "You never have."

'Talk about multiple personalities…' Mia thought to herself. 'This girl changed her mood more times than I changed my socks this week…wait…what day is it?'

"Let's finish this," Katsu said drawing. "Masked Beast attack!" The Beast raised its staff and began to glow once more.

"Reverse Gravity Bind," Sonomi shouted as the energy net reappeared on the field. "Let's not finish this just yet."

"Fine, I summon Grand Tiki Elder," she said as a green, ghost like demon wearing a mask and multiple kinds of jewelry appeared on the field. (1500/800) "My turn is over."

Sonomi drew her card, "one monster on guard and end," she said as the horizontal card appeared on the field.

Katsu drew her card and looked down at it, "I activate Black Pendant," she said as a necklace with a black jewel in the center appeared. "And I'll equip it to Zombra to give him a 500 point boost." (2200/500) "My turn is done."

Sonomi drew her card and added it to her hand, "I summon Raging Flame Sprite," she announced as the small pixie appeared on the field smiling. (100/200) "Direct attack!" The sprite let out a small fire ball that made Katsu's shirt catch on fire. She patted it out rather quickly and looked at the giggling Sprite. (2300) "Now that Raging Flame Sprite attacked directly she gains 1000 attack points. (1100/200) My turn is over."

Katsu drew and grinned, "I'm sure your duel disk is a little heavy right now, so let me help by releasing some of that weight by playing Soul Release. This allows me to remove five monsters from either your graveyard or mine, but I'm going to do it on yours. So I'll remove the Thestalos you discarded earlier, then Lava Golem, your Solar Flare Dragon, and two of your UFO Turtles."

Growling Sonomi took the five cards out of her Duel Disk and placed them in her skirt pocket. "Are you finished?"

"I suppose I am," Katsu said.

Sonomi drew her card, "Raging Flame Sprite attack the player!" The sprite released a larger fireball that hit Katsu and made her flinch. (1200) "Raging Flame Sprite gains another 1000 attack points (2100/200) and then I set one card under the table ending my turn."

'I'm through if I can't draw something to stop that sprite next turn,' Katsu thought as she drew her card. 'This will work nicely.' "I set one card under the table and end my turn," she said as the card appeared.

Sonomi drew, "It's over! Raging Flame Sprite attack Katsu ending this duel!"

"Not so fast," Katsu said as the card reversed. "I use another Karma Cut. I discard a card from my hand to remove your Raging Flame Sprite from play." Like the Solar Flare Dragon before the sprite was cut in half before vanishing in a vortex.

'Damn, that was my best chance with the cards in my hand,' she thought looking at her hand. "I set one monster on guard and end my turn," she said as she placed Thing in the Crater face down.

"My move," Katsu said drawing. 'Yes!' she thought. 'Dust Tornado will allow me to end this duel.' "I set one card under the table and I end my turn," Katsu said as the face down card appeared. 'I'll wait till she ends her turn so that she'll be completely unprepared.'

Sonomi drew her card and smirked, 'This will be perfect. This card will finish her off, I just have to wait until her turn begins.' "I set one card under the table and end my turn," Sonomi said.

"Reverse Dust Tornado!" Katsu called out. A tornado appeared in the middle of the field ripping through the energy field and sucking it up as if it were nothing. "I'm sorry Sonomi, but this is the end of the duel. With my Zombra, Masked Beast, and Grand Tiki Elder able to attack again, you won't be able to live past this round. I've finally proven myself," she said smiling. She drew her card, "Zombra, attack her face down monster."

"Sonomi!" Mia called out.

"Sorry Katsu," Sonomi smirked, but I'm going to get to your Life Points before you can get to mine."

"How!" Katsu asked in disbelief.

"I reverse my face down card, Spiritual Fire Art – Kurenai!"

"Way to go Sonomi!" Mia cheered.

"What does that do?" Katsu asked.

"It allows me to tribute one fire monster on my field and then you lose the Life Points equal to the original attack of the monster."

"NO!" Katsu cried out.

Hita the Fire Charmer appeared on the field and raised her staff, "I sacrifice my face down Thing in the Crater so that Hita can use the magical power of Kurenai!" The thing disappeared and the fiery powers of Hita's staff began to glow. She jumped up and fired a wave of fire at Katsu who cried out in pain as the wave hit her. (200) "and now with Dark Room of Nightmare, you lose another 300, more than what's required." Katsu glowed purple as her Life Points were depleted. (0) Masked Beast and the other cards on the field vanished as Katsu fell to the ground.

"I…I lost," she said looking down at the ground.

Sonomi walked over to her just in time to hear the statement, and smirking she said, "Who cares?"

"What!" Katsu said looking up. "What do you mean 'who cares?' I lost the duel!"

"Exactly," Sonomi said smirking. "But right before you lost, you already admitted that you had proved yourself. So who cares if you lost?" Katsu stared at her in disbelief. "Katsu, you came very close to winning. You've learned so much since you've been here and in my book you no longer need protecting." Katsu looked down at the ground in thought. Sonomi turned around and began to walk away but she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see Katsu standing there holding her back.

"Sonomi…" she paused before looking up with a smile, "You're the best. Thank you."

Sonomi smiled at her, turned around, and shook her hand, "You're welcome. See you around." She turned around and Mia followed her out of the arena.

'You're right Sonomi,' Katsu said watching them walk out. 'I really have proved myself.' She smiled and walked away in the opposite direction.


	28. So Much So Little Time Part 1

Sdrive: Here we are, the next chapter of Ra Yellow. And sorry for the late update, _again!_ Being busy sucks guys.

* * *

Kokuro, Fuuten, Setsuna and Kazuki were sitting in the lobby of the arena nearby the vending machines. Kokuro had gotten a soda from the vending machine and was sitting lazily in the chair, bored out of his mind.

"When are they going to announce the ending of the first rounds?" he asked.

"When they feel like it," Kazuki said smirking.

"And then we have to wait a whole other round of competition before that. What are we supposed to do to cure the boredom?"

"You could watch my duel," Kazuki said.

Setsuna nodded in agreement, "Kazuki did watch yours after all. Plus it would give you something to do while you wait for your next duel."

"But even then we have to find something to do afterwards," Kokuro said bummed out.

"Don't you want to pass a little bit of time?" Kazuki asked.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Kokuro said. "It's only going to be a _little _bit of time."

"What's a little bit of time?" came a voice from behind them. They turned around to see Sonomi, the speaker, and Mia walking up from behind them.

"Sonomi!" Kokuro said jumping up going over to her, "about time you got here. I was bored senseless without you both here."

"You had us," Setsuna pointed out.

"But you guys weren't offering anything humorous," Kokuro said giving off a joking smile. His eyes soon shot down to the ground, 'However, I've really just been going crazy trying to figure out why Sonomi ran off on us.' He turned to Sonomi, "what caused you to dash off back then anyway?" he asked her.

Sonomi looked startled for a second before smiling, "I saw that my opponent was the girl I won the Des Guardius back for, and I was surprised to find out she was here. So I ran off to see if it was the same one."

"Oh," Kokuro responded. "What happened?"

"Well, I won," Sonomi said smiling.

"Awesome!" Kokuro said giving her a high five.

"And you?" she asked.

"He beat me," Fuuten said walking over. "But it was fun so it doesn't matter."

"That's good," Mia said smiling.

"Well, I'm ready for the next round to happen already," Kokuro said getting impatient.

"It will when it's ready to start," Kazuki said.

"I can't hold back!" Kokuro said getting excited. "There are so many duelists here with so many different strategies! I just got to get out there and duel them!"

"Good grief," Sonomi said staring at her friend. "How much sugar did you put in your coffee today?"

"I actually didn't have any this morning," Kokuro said looking at her.

"Yeah, I'm so…" she began.

"_This ends the first round of the second line match ups. Will the duelists for the second round of the second line match ups please report to your designated duel arenas?" _The sound of the announcer boomed across the stadium.

"I guess this means I'm up," Kazuki said grinning. He began walking out to the arena as the others went to go find seats in the stands.

They found seats as close as they could to Kazuki's arena and then sat down to watch. "It's too bad we couldn't join him on the field like we've been doing," Mia said disappointed.

"One or two people are fine," Sonomi said. "But when you have an entire group following after you, it gets to be too much."

"I know," Mia said upset. "It's just too bad we couldn't be down there with him."

"Oh no," Kokuro said looking across the arena.

"What?" Sonomi asked.

"Look across the field at his opponent." They followed his gaze and were horrified to see a trembling Osiris Red student looking at the other side; the student's face was easily recognizable.

"I feel really bad for Jordan," Kokuro said crossing his arms. "He doesn't stand a chance."

"_Devil's Mirror, attack the player!" Kazuki called out as his mirror's dark aura appeared and blasted Kokuro in the chest. (3300) It was then Kokuro knew he had lost the duel. "Masked Beast, attack the Player!" The Masked Beast brought its powerful staff down on Kokuro causing him to fall backwards onto the ground. (100) He slowly stood up as Kazuki ordered his final attack, "Reshef, finish off my opponent!" Three spheres, red, blue, and yellow appeared around Reshef, they turned into blasts of energy that hit Kokuro knocking him down once more. (0)_

"Kazuki is just too powerful," Kokuro said after thinking back to his duel. "Jordan has decent cards, but he seriously lacks the skills needed to use them right."

"Then I guess this really will be a short duel," Fuuten said watching them.

"_Begin the second round of the second line match ups!" _the announcement came over the arena and the hearts of the friends dropped for Jordan.

"It's time to begin our duel," Kazuki said drawing his card. "The first turn is mine. And I'll activate Commencement Dance," he said as his card appeared on the field. "Now by sacrificing a monster with six stars or more from my hand, I can summon a monster known as Performance of Sword. So I discard my Devil's Mirror in order to bring forth Performance of Sword," he announced as a woman wielding two swords appeared on the field dancing. The clothing of her people flung out behind her anytime she did a twirl. (1950/1850)

'At least it's not too powerful,' Jordan thought to himself. 'I might have a chance.'

"I'm not done yet," Kazuki said taking another card from his hand. "I activate Fulfillment of the Contract. By giving up a mere 800 Life Points I can bring back one Ritual Monster in my graveyard," he explained as his Life Points fell. (7200) "Now I bring back the monster I discarded to summon Performance of Sword, my Devil's Mirror!" The large, evil mirror that had been summoned during Kokuro's duel with Kazuki appeared on the field with a dark aura glowing around it. "I set one card under the table and end my turn," Kazuki announced as his facedown card appeared on the field.

'Alright Jordan, just keep your cool,' he thought to himself. 'He has only one card in his hand, so if I can draw a good card, I might have a chance,' he weakly drew his card. 'Hey, this should help out big time.' "Since I have no monsters on my side of the field and you have at least one, I can special summon Cyber Dragon from my hand," he announced as his large metallic dragon appeared on the field roaring loudly. (2100/1600) "Now I can also summon this, Machine King Prototype," he said as he summoned the card on the field. A large machine appeared on the field, similar to the Machine King but looked to still be in the early stages of development. (1600/1500) "This monster gains an extra 100 attack and defense for each Machine Monster on my side of the field other than him," he said happily. (1700/1600)

"I'm not impressed," Kazuki said staring at him, Jordan began trembling.

Up in the audience Kokuro felt sorry for him, "just one statement by Kazuki and his confidence went right to hell. He knows Kazuki's better than him, and he's afraid of him."

Out on the field Jordan was panicking, 'alright, calm down man. You can do this. Just look at your cards and find a way out of this.' He took a look at his hand and saw one card that could help. "Hey, there we go, if I do this, I can make my Machine King Prototype stronger!"

"Oh?" Kazuki asked in a tone of voice that made it clear he really didn't care.

"I activate Machine Conversion Factory," Jordan said playing the card. "This will increase the attack and defense of my Machine King Prototype by 300."

Kazuki shook his head as he watched the machine grow in strength. (2000/1900) "That was a bad mistake on your part."

"What? Why?" Jordan asked nervously.

"Had you used your spell card on Cyber Dragon, you may have lost Machine King Prototype on your next round, but your Conversion Factory would have made Cyber Dragon a 2400, stronger than my Devil's Mirror. But because of that poor play, your Cyber Dragon is still just as strong as my Devil's Mirror, and you will still lose your Machine King Prototype, and then have to deal with whatever else I might summon."

Up in the audience what Kazuki said was going over in Kokuro's mind. "But…wouldn't that mean that by the play Jordan made, he will only lose 100 Life Points instead of the 250 he would have lost? Then his Cyber Dragon and Kazuki's Devil Mirror will be at a standoff."

"It's intimidation," Sonomi said. "Kazuki knows that Jordan belittles himself and so he takes advantage of it. Besides, Kazuki was right anyway, if Cyber Dragon was a 2400, there would be a lot better chance of Jordan saving himself for a few rounds."

Out on the arena Jordan was nervous, 'I have to do this, and I have to show him I'm not sweating.' "Cyber Dragon, destroy Performance of Sword!" he announced as the dragon released a stream of flames from its built in flamethrower and destroyed the dancing monster.

"If that's your best then I'm ready to begin my turn and finish this duel," Kazuki said annoyed. (7050)

"I'm finished," Jordan said weakly.

"Then stand back," Kazuki said drawing his card looking at it quickly. "I activate my face down trap, Sixth Sense."

"Sixth Sense, what does that do?" Jordan asked worriedly.

"Hey Sonomi," Mia began. "I remember that card from when you dueled Rerun on the volcano.

Sonomi nodded, "Yeah. It's a powerful Trap Card, and one that's very risky as well. It's perfect for Kazuki's deck."

"What do you mean?" Fuuten asked.

"His deck is very risky to use," she explained. "He often times uses up a lot of cards in his hand and if he summons his last ritual monster, and his opponent activates a Torrential Tribute, or something along those lines, then Kazuki loses all his monsters and he gets very close to top decking. But he's never lost a duel, and sometimes I wonder if he ever will." She stared down at Kazuki with a look of worry in her eyes. 'I don't even think I can beat him.'

"In response to your question, with Sixth Sense I choose two numbers between one and six and then roll one dice. If it lands on one of the numbers I select then that's how many cards I draw, if it lands on one of the other four remaining numbers, then that's how many I have to discard off the top of my deck. So, obviously in order to draw the maximum of cards and reduce my risk of losing a lot, I choose five and six."

'This is bad,' Jordan thought to himself.

Kazuki produced a dice from his jacket pocket and rolled it onto the ground. Jordan looked nervously as it came to a slow stop on a five. Kazuki smirked, "That means I get to draw five cards from my deck," he said as he leafed the cards on his deck till he had five counted out and pulled them all at the same time. He placed them in his hand and folded them out to view them. Kazuki smirked, "And now you are going to learn the real foolishness of your last move."

'Oh no…' Jordan thought weakly.

"I activate the ritual spell card End of the World!"

"That card name just sounds powerful," Kokuro pointed out.

"The spell itself is nothing to get worked up over, but what it can summon is," Sonomi said amazed. "I didn't even know he had it."

"Now then, in order to summon this card, I have to offer up monsters with stars equal exactly to eight. So I discard my Masked Beast in order to meet the requirements of my spell card." The field began to shake violently as dark clouds began to surround the two duelists.

"Wha…what's going on?" Jordan asked frightened.

"It should have been obvious by the name of the ritual spell," Kazuki said with his arms crossed and smirking, "it's the End of the World."

The shadows around them spun together and flew down to the arena creating a dark shadow with a blue mask over it. Then, emerging from the shadow, came a woman with a white, red, and black dress, long white hair, and a long, red axe like scepter. (2300/2000)

"She's beautiful," Mia commented.

"She also looks angry," Kokuro noticed.

"What…what is that thing?" Jordan stuttered.

"This is Ruin, the Queen of Oblivion," Kazuki said. "And now watch as she wipes out your Cyber Dragon. Oblivion Slash!" the woman jumped forward and in one easy swipe she had split the Cyber Dragon in two.

"Not my Cyber Dragon!" Jordan cried out. (7800)

"And now your Machine King Prototype," he said.

Jordan looked over at his Machine King Prototype (1900/1800) and then saw Ruin turn around and then slash her scepter once more, slashing the monster in half through the middle blowing it up. (7400) "How did it do that?" Jordan asked scared.

"Ruin can attack again if she destroyed a monster in battle," Kazuki explained. "And now Devil's Mirror, attack Jordan directly!" The mirror began to glow with purple aura before it shot out a beam of energy from its mirror and blasted Jordan in the chest making him cry out in pain. (5300) "I set a card under the table and end my turn," Kazuki said as the face down card appeared on the field.

Jordan weakly drew his card and looked at it, "I set a monster on guard and end my turn."

Kazuki drew his card and didn't bother looking at it, "I activate Compulsory Evacuation Device, this will return your monster to your hand," he said as the face down monster vanished and returned to Jordan's hand. "I summon Sonic Bird," he said as the brown bird with a jet pack appeared on the field. (1400/1000) "This monster lets me take a ritual spell card from my deck and add it to my hand," he said as he pulled out his deck and picked the very first one he came to. He barely shuffled before turning it to the deck holster.

"I don't have enough Life Points to survive this attack!" Jordan cried out in shock.

"Devil's Mirror, Sonic Bird, and Ruin, wipe out Jordan!" The Mirror fired another aura blast while the bird activated the jetpack and slammed into Jordan and finally Ruin jumped forward again and slashed Jordan across the chest. Jordan fell backwards screaming as the final attack landed. (0)

The holograms vanished and Kazuki turned around walking away without another word. Up in the stands the group of friends looked at Jordan barely standing up, "he has a lot to learn," Sonomi said annoyed. "I'm surprised he didn't just leave when he found out his opponent was Kazuki."

"You have to give him credit for at least trying though," Kokuro said shrugging.

"The duel was over in five rounds, I don't see a whole bunch of trying that happened," she responded. "Sure, he tried to defend his Life Points and strengthen his monsters, but we all see how greatly that failed."

"Sonomi you shouldn't be so harsh," Mia said to her. "Kazuki is just a really strong duelist, and Jordan has a whole lot to learn. He should try to duel students of his own skill level."

"But in a tournament you have no idea who you're going to face," Fuuten said causing everyone to look over at him. "And because of it, you also don't have a choice. You either duel your opponent, or you forfeit the entire thing."

'He's got a good idea of what goes on in a tournament,' Sonomi thought looking at Fuuten. She turned back and watched Jordan meekly make his way over to the other exit before turning to Kokuro, "I suppose your back to finding something to do with your time."

Kokuro sighed, "Yeah you're right."

* * *

Ten minutes later everyone else had gone off to wait in the lobby again but Kokuro had spotted Yaku in a duel and was watching him finish it up.

"How are you going to beat me?" his opponent asked him. "You only have your X-Head Cannon, a face down monster, and _one _Frontline Base. You'll never summon your best monster now, and you have my Cosmo Queen to deal with here. Give up."

"You worry about how you're going to win and I'll worry about how I am going to win," Yaku said grinning.

"Fine," his opponent said drawing his card. "I summon Gilasaurus," he said as a raging dinosaur appeared on the field. (1400/400) "Cosmo Queen, wipe out X-Head Cannon!" The queen formed a ball of dark energy in her hands before firing it, causing blue electricity to trail behind it.

"Reverse Rare Metalmorph," Yaku said as his X-Head Cannon got a silvery touch to its metallic plates. (2300/1500) The energy hit the machine and it blew to pieces reducing Yaku's Life Points. (100)

"That was too close," Kokuro said sighing with relief.

"You saved yourself for this turn," his opponent said. "Gilasaurus, wipe out the face down monster!" Gilasaurus stomped forward before swinging its tail around smashing a Magician of Faith.

"Looks like I'll be taking the other Frontline Base you sent to the graveyard earlier with Heavy Storm," Yaku said as the card slipped out of his graveyard and he took hold of it.

"Won't matter," his opponent said. "I end my turn."

"Not before my Call of the Haunted brings my X-Head Cannon back," Yaku said grinning as his machine reappeared on the field. (1800/1500)

"No!" his opponent said in disbelief.

"Yup," Yaku said drawing. "I activate Frontline Base," he said as the spell card appeared on the field. Now I special summon both Y-Dragon Head and Z-Metal Caterpillar," he said as the two machines appeared on the field, one a metallic red dragon and the other a golden tank. (1500/1600, 1500/1300) "Now I combine my three machines together to form the one, the only, XYZ Dragon Cannon!" he announced as the three monsters combined together to create the mighty machine monster once used by Seto Kaiba himself. (2800/2600) "Now I activate Giant Truenade," Yaku said smirking as a gust of wind came through the field returning his Call of the Haunted, and his two Frontline Bases.

"You've never had that card in your deck!" his opponent shouted.

"I added it specifically for the tournament," Yaku said grinning. "Now I discard both Frontline Bases in order for XYZ Dragon Cannon to wipe out both your monsters." The machine shot beams of energy at the two monsters which were blown to digital pieces.

His opponent looked warily at his Life Point display. (1600) "I'm through," he said looking down.

"XYZ Dragon Cannon, wipe out his Life Points," Yaku called out as the machine fired one final blast that knocked his opponent back depleting his Life Points. (0)

Yaku smiled while Kokuro cheered for him and his XYZ Dragon Cannon vanished from the field. "Good game man," Yaku said walking over and helping him up.

"I just underestimated you," his opponent said. "I deserved it, duel again some day?"

"Sure," he said shaking. They parted and Kokuro met him at the arena exit, "How'd you like my performance?" he asked him.

"It was awesome!" Kokuro said giving him a high five. "Congratulations."

"Thanks. At the rate I'm going, we might just end up dueling each other."

"I would look forward to it," Kokuro said smiling at him. "I think a rematch between us would be awesome."

"Sure would, and this time the machines will reign supreme."

"You wish," Kokuro said laughing. They exited the arena and went back to where Kokuro and the others had been earlier, but when they got there all they saw was Jordan who was sitting on the benches looking very depressed. They walked over to him and Kokuro spoke, "you doing better?"

"I'm a failure," Jordan said looking down. "Kazuki was right, that play I made was bad. I've overturned the duel hundreds of times in my head and the only outcome I see is him crushing me, whether I had put the Conversion Factory on Cyber Dragon or not."

"You faced Kazuki," Yaku said stunned.

"Yeah, and Kazuki didn't hold anything back either," Kokuro replied. "He went full out, and was rather tough on him too with the way he talked."

"Kazuki is like that with everyone," Yaku said. "Don't take it personally Jordan."

"The kid is a psycho!" Jordan shouted. "Even if he is right, you've seen him. He acted fine at that party in Hitoku's shop but out on the arena he was a snotty jerk who couldn't have been anymore of a jock!"

Kokuro and Yaku had taken a step back from Jordan and were looking pretty worried. Jordan thought it was because of him but soon he realized just how deep he was in when the person standing behind him spoke. "If you have a problem with me, don't take it out on someone else, face me like a man and tell me yourself." Jordan, now practically pale, turned around to face Kazuki glaring down at him. "If you have the nerve to tell others what you feel about me, have the nerve to also tell _me_, face to face."

Jordan was shaking so bad he would have collapsed if Kokuro and Yaku hadn't caught him. "Kazuki, calm down," Yaku tried intervening. "He's just frustrated because he lost so soon."

"Frustration is not an excuse to badmouth someone who beat them," Kazuki said, anger still present in his voice. "Listen here Jordan, and listen well. You are no where near my skill level. I do not say this because I am being a jerk, I am saying it because it is plain fact. Your chances of beating me were little to none from the very beginning, it's the difference in our skill levels that makes me superior. So in your position you have no right to be badmouthing me."

"There you go again, acting like a jerk just because you're a better duelist," Jordan said coldly.

"Don't you understand?" Kazuki said highly annoyed now. "I am saying this because for your skill level, you did the best you could against me; your best just wasn't good enough. If you were a better duelist, you would have had a better chance, but the fact remains that your strategy isn't solid. Isn't that the entire reason you came here? To find a more solid strategy?"

"Of course it is, but what I didn't come here for was to be jerked around by better players."

"Then how can I being honest with you make me a jerk?" Kazuki asked. "The truth hurts Sabre, get over it. If you truly came to get better, then do that. Don't blame me for _being_ better; blame yourself for not _getting_ better."

"He has a point," Kokuro told Jordan. "You shouldn't be taking out your anger on Kazuki and badmouthing him because you played your best at your current skill level. You should find it as a reason to make yourself even better. So that the next time, even if you don't win, maybe you'll last a couple turns longer. And then the time after that, last another few turns longer, and even the time after that."

"You have to also face the other fact that you may never beat him either," Yaku told him. "But you have to keep going in with the attitude that you might, and not blame anyone else if you do lose. You could have the best deck in the world, but if you don't have the skill to use it then it's meaningless."

"A deck is only as good as the duelist," Kazuki finished. "Don't blame your opponent for your loss, because in reality you will have no one to blame but yourself."

Jordan looked down at the ground as the final words sank in, "you're right," he finally said. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"Just don't let it happen again, or else I will have wasted my time here," Kazuki said walking on by to go about whatever he was originally off to do.

"Feeling better?" Yaku asked him.

"I'll be fine," Jordan said looking down at the ground.

Kokuro stared at him for a moment before giving a small smile, "sure you will. You just need to try harder. And if you need to, we can help you do it after the tournament."

"Really? You guys would help me?" he asked surprised.

"Of course," Yaku said grinning. "You just have to wait for Kokuro and I to make it to the top first."

"Well good luck to both of you," Jordan said giving a small smile. "I'm going to go back to the dormitory and study up."

"That sounds like a good idea," Yaku said nodding.

"Good luck," Kokuro said giving Jordan a thumbs up.

"Thanks guys," he said and then headed off.

They watched him leave before Yaku turned to Kokuro, "So where are the others anyway?"

"I don't know. This is where we were before, but they're obviously not here now. And I don't know where they could be."

"Do you think they went to the other side?" he asked.

Kokuro shrugged, "It's the only place we haven't been too yet." They began heading down the hall to go towards the other lobby when Kuriboh appeared next to Kokuro. "What's up?" he asked. Kuriboh began letting out a cry and pointing towards the outside. "You're saying they're outside?" he asked.

"Who are you talking too?" Yaku asked turning around to face him.

Kuriboh vanished and Kokuro had to think of something quickly, "oh, sometimes I just talk to myself," he lied. "I was thinking maybe they went outside."

"Why would they go out there?" Yaku asked.

Kokuro shrugged, he really couldn't think of a reason why they would, but Kuriboh seemed to know where they were and he wasn't about to doubt his Friendship Spirit. "Maybe they wanted some fresh air?"

Yaku shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine, but if you're right then it will save us from making an unnecessary trip around the stadium, we might as well look." They headed out and after searching for a few minutes they did indeed find them outside, but they weren't alone. Satoshi was standing there with them and he seemed to be annoyed.

As they walked up they could hear that Sonomi was arguing with him, "And I'm telling you he can! He already beat you once before."

"Yeah, and he needed your help," Satoshi shot back.

"I guess we'll see just how right you are when you both meet in the arena," she said crossing her arms angrily.

"What's going on?" Kokuro asked as he and Yaku finally arrived.

"So you finally decided to come out of hiding eh?" Satoshi said to him smirking.

"Hiding from what?" Kokuro asked.

"From me of course," he said smirking. "If it weren't against the rules I would just crush you now, but the tournament rules clearly state that no remaining competitors can compete in duels until the end of 'the project.' If this law is broken it's an immediate disqualification for the competitors."

"I still don't know what you're talking about," Kokuro said trying to figure out what he was missing.

"Are you serious? You mean you really don't realize that I'm your next opponent in the tournament," Satoshi said with a look of awe at Kokuro's lack of insight.

"What?" Kokuro said shocked. "But, the list hasn't been posted yet!"

"Yes it has," Mia said looking at him. "It was posted ten minutes ago. You're dueling in the second round of the third match ups."

"The lists must have been put up when we were talking with Jordan and Kazuki," Yaku pointed out.

"Must have been," Kokuro said nodding.

"It doesn't matter since our duel won't be taking place for quite a while," Satoshi said annoyed. "After the first round the tournament will take an hour lunch break. We have quite a while before our duel, and this time I'm going to defeat you, now that you don't have the help of your girlfriend."

"Watch it," Kokuro said getting a little annoyed, "You've been down on me ever since I came to this island, and quite frankly I'm getting annoyed with your whole attitude. I've already defeated you once before and you still won't give me the time of day."

"That's because you needed help last time," Satoshi said smirking. "And you haven't even seen the best of my deck yet. What you saw the other day was only a glimpse of my decks deadly power. And without Sonomi to back you up, you're going to crash and burn."

"If I recall correctly you had help as well," Fuuten said standing up for the two.

"If you would actually use that brain of yours you would also remember that she was defeated a lot earlier before I was and I still held my own against both of them before I was defeated."

"Even so you still lost," Sonomi said smirking.

"Which wouldn't have happened had you not been there," Satoshi shot back glaring at her.

"Listen," Yaku said stepping in between them, "the fact of the matter is that it was a double duel and no matter the outcome, no one knows what would have happened had it just been a one on one. So why don't you both just calm down and we'll find out what it would have been like when they duel in the second round."

"Fine with me," Kokuro replied.

"Sure, it's not like it will matter anyway," Satoshi said. "I would rather have lunch first anyway. Food fuels the body and makes the mind sharper, besides, dueling you when you're not at your best isn't as satisfying when I crush you."

"Keep talking Satoshi," Sonomi said. "Kokuro will put you in your place after lunch."

"Well by all means," Satosh said waving his hand, "we'll watch him do so." Turning around he left the group without another word.

"I never get over what a nice guy he is," Fuuten said sarcastically.

"The world is full of not nice people," another voice said behind them. They turned around to see Ritsuzen Nushi and Kyusai-sensei standing behind them.

"What are you doing here?" Kokuro asked annoyed.

"I'm taking a walk through the island," Ritsuzen said smugly. "As far as I can recall I'm allowed to walk freely on this island."

"I don't believe you," Kokuro said annoyed. "You want something from us."

"HA!" Ritsuzen shouted. "Why would I ever want anything from you pathetic fools? You're so caught up in yourself Kokuro Samé. You think everyone is after you for something, and if someone like me crosses your path you get all defensive."

"We really were just taking a walk through the island," Kyusai-sensei said to the group. "It was pure coincidence that we bumped into you."

"Trust me Kokuro, for today I am not after you," Ritsuzen said smirking at him. "I know the rules of your tournament and I know how much you want to be in it. So for today, I am nothing but a watcher." He began walking past Kokuro when he stopped and glanced over at him. Kokuro had been looking the other direction but he felt a chill up his spine the second Ritsuzen put his eye on him. "However, as soon as today is over, I'll be after you once more."

"I'll be waiting for your challenge," Kokuro said, not turning around.

"I know you will," Ritsuzen said chuckling as he turned his head forward again. "Good luck in your little tournament, because after it's over, all the luck in the world won't save you." He began walking off with Kyusai-sensei in tow as the others watched him leave.

Sonomi turned to Kokuro and saw that his face was stone cold, "Are you alright Kokuro?" she asked him.

"I'm fine," he said coldly. "I'm not scared of him, and I never will be. Let's head back to the arena." Without another word he walked off towards the arena and the others followed.

Once they were far enough away, two eyes appeared from the shadow of a tree close to where they had just been standing. "You may not be afraid of him now," a dark, but recognizable voice, said, "but I'll see if I can't fix that later on." A breeze started blowing, rustling the leaves and shifting the shadow of the tree. As the shadow changed, the eyes vanished.

* * *

The group had almost reached the arena and Kokuro had discovered that Sonomi was dueling in the first round along with Kazuki and Yaku. "So, I guess you both have to head out into the arena as soon as we get there," Kokuro said looking at the two duelists.

"You can feel free to watch my duel," Sonomi said. "You haven't seen me duel in the tournament yet."

"Or you could watch me," Yaku said pushing Sonomi aside. "After all, you only caught the ending of my duel."

Sonomi pushed him aside looking annoyed, "Yeah but at least you got to see a bit of his duel, you haven't seen me at all."

"Who helped you out on the first day of class?" Yaku asked getting up in his face.

"Who helped hold Yaku and his sister off while you and Mia ran off to tell Suji-sensei about the guy in the forest?" Sonomi shot back.

"Who's going to give you the male bonding you need when you're sick of staying in a room with two girls?" Yaku asked.

Mia and Sonomi just gave each other a glance before looking at Yaku funny. "Are you implying that Kokuro would get sick of having two females sleeping in the same room as him?" Sonomi asked him, knowing that she was about to trap Yaku in a corner. "More over are you implying that Kokuro is…"

"NO!" Yaku said putting his hands up. "Not at all. I'm just saying one of these days Kokuro is going to get sick of waking up to a bathroom that smells like perfume and has a whole bunch of accessories blocking him from his tooth brush."

"So does that mean you are going to be there to save Kokuro when he's married and facing the exact same problems then?" Mia asked putting her hand on Kokuro's shoulder and smirking at Yaku.

"You're damn right I will be!" Yaku said acting manly. "I'm going to make sure that every week he's going to have a guys night out with Kazuki and me and we're going to save him from the female menace!" he said dramatically.

"My hero," Kokuro said sarcastically clapping a little.

"Well, I think I'm going to have a problem with that," Mia said acting annoyed.

"And why is that?" Yaku asked chuckling.

"Because I'm going to be Kokuro's wife, and I'm not going to appreciate my husband being stolen from me every week by a bunch of strange men."

"You're going to be my wife?" Kokuro asked confused and yet blushing at the same time.

"Yup," Mia said laughing. "I'm going to get to you before Sonomi can," she said and then hid in front of him before a red Sonomi (from anger or embarrassment was unsure) came swinging at her.

"That's not even funny Mia," Sonomi said in a voice that made it apparent that she was annoyed.

"Oh come on," Mia said laughing, "It's only a joke." She smiled as she gave Kokuro a small shove, "I already have a boyfriend, Kokuro's all yours." She then started running as soon as Sonomi began chasing her the rest of the way to the arena.

"I wish I had girls fighting over me like that," Yaku said laughing.

Kokuro couldn't pass up the opportunity to take advantage of Yaku's remark, "Well, consider it my gift to you. By having those two fight over me I save you from having to fight off mak-up in the morning when trying to brush your teeth." He burst out laughing as did Yaku while they walked into the arena making everyone stare at them.

One of the people staring at them, an Osiris Red, actually approached them extending their hand to Yaku. When they finally noticed him Kokuro couldn't help but smile, "Hey 'what's your name,' how's it going?"

Kahou just stood there with his hand still extended, "I'm fine," he said smiling at Yaku. "I just want to wish my opponent a good game ahead of time."

"You're Yaku's opponent for the first round of the third match ups?" Kokuro asked shocked.

"Yes," Kahou said nodding. "And unlike what happened with his sister, I don't plan on losing this time."

Yaku smiled down at the little Osiris, "Well Kahou I accept your challenge," he took his hand and shook it. "And right back at you."

They retracted their hands just as Sonomi and Mia came over to them, "So, you coming to watch my duel or not?" Sonomi asked him. "The round is just about to start."

"Another time," Kokuro said shocking the other four around him. "I just found out that Yaku and Kahou are opponent's in the next round and I want to get another glance at Kahou's Time Deck."

Sonomi smirked, "I understand. In fact if I weren't dueling I'd probably do the same, even if _you_ were dueling Kokuro," she ended with an evil smirk.

"Low blow," Mia said grinning.

"Anyway, best of luck to both of you," she said to them. "I'm heading out to the arena."

"And I get to watch both of your duels now!" Mia said excitedly as she turned around and followed Sonomi out to the arena.

"Not going to stay and watch Kahou's unique deck?" Sonomi said a little surprised.

"It would be exciting, but if Kokuro and I both stayed and watched who would cheer you on?" she asked.

Sonomi's face turned almost emotionless, even though her voice betrayed her face, "I don't need to be cheered on. If you want to go watch the duel, you can."

"Well first off, I think I know someone who would disagree with that statement," Mia replied catching Sonomi off guard. "And second I would rather watch your duel anyway. I like Kokuro a lot and he may be one of my best friends, but _you _are my very best friend. We've been friends since our first year here, and I haven't had anyone better."

Sonomi smiled at Mia, "Right back at you kiddo," she said rustling Mia's hair and laughing.

"Hey! I'm older than you!" she said annoyed even though she was smiling.

"Older and shorter," Sonomi replied laughing as they got to the arena.

"At least Kokuro doesn't pick on me," Mia huffed.

"We're all best friends," Sonomi said looking at her. "You know I'm only playing with you."

"Yeah," Mia said nodding. They heard the sound of their Kuriboh's and couldn't help but smile before they turned around to face the opponent.

* * *

Yaku and Kahou had already gotten to their respective sides of the arena and Kokuro was standing against the wall on Yaku's side of the field. 'This is going to be really interesting,' Kokuro thought to himself. 'Yaku's a good duelist, and he's an Obelisk Blue no less.' Kokuro watched as the duo drew their hands of five. 'But Kahou seems so confident in his abilities, and his deck is filled with strange monsters that no one's ever heard of. He's only an Osiris Red, but he's never looked more confident.'

"_Let the first round of the third line match ups begin!" _The announcer's voice bellowed.

"I know not to judge talent by looks," Yaku said. "But you are still an Osiris, and I don't want to look like the big bad Obelisk who picked on the small nice Osiris, so I'll let you begin."

"Fine," Kahou said drawing his card and grinning. "First, it's time for a blast from the past," he said placing a card on the field, "I summon Time Solider" he announced as the small soldier with white armor on it and the various time clocks engraved in it appeared on the field. (600/900)

'This is the monster he used that multiple attack combo with,' Yaku thought back to when Elda and Kahou dueled.

"Now, it's time to activate a new card," Kahou said grinning. "One I haven't used yet at the academy, Time Warp!" A blue and white swirling vortex appeared on the field and the Time Solider looked at it and jumped through it. Kahou took his Time Soldier card off his Duel Disk and put it in his pocket. "Time Warp removes one Time Monster with 1000 attack or less from my side of the field from play," Kahou explained. He took another card from his hand and set it into the disk. "One card under the table and that ends my turn."

'That Time Warp…' Yaku thought watching the vortex on the field. 'It has to be used for something more or else it would have vanished by now. I have to go about this carefully.' He drew his sixth card and looked over his hand. "I summon X-Head Cannon," he said as his blue and gold machine monster appeared on the field, its two cannons ready to be fired. (1800/1500) "X-Head Cannon, attack the player!" he announced as the cannons began to charge.

"Reverse Time Freeze," Kahou announced. A glowing alarm clock appeared on X-Head Cannon causing it to glow with a faint yellow light. The cannons stopped charging but seemed to still be in the process, as if it were frozen. "As you know, Time Freeze freezes your monster in time. It can't attack this turn, but next turn it has to attack at least once, and then it can attack again."

"Fine," Yaku said taking two cards from his hand, 'I still don't trust Time Warp, so I'm going to prepare for the worst.' "I set one card under the table and then I activate Sealing Swords of Light!" he announced as the magical glowing swords fell down onto Kahou's side of the field imprisoning him. "My turn is over."

Kahou drew his card and smirked at something he had seen on the field, he then continued on putting his drawn card in his hand. "To begin, I'll summon Time Adjuster," he said placing the card on the field. A green ghost with a dark cape and a long white beard appeared on the field holding a scepter with an alarm clock as the topper. (1300/1000) "And if you remember, Time Adjuster gains an extra 200 attack points for each Time Monster on the field, including himself. (1500/1000) "Now I activate Time Scepter," Kahou announced as the scepter Time Adjuster had changed a little bit. "This gives Time Adjuster an extra 300 attack points," Kahou said proudly. (1800/1000)

'That was a good move,' Kokuro thought to himself. 'If I remember correctly, Time Scepter will keep Time Adjuster alive next turn when Yaku has no choice but to attack with X-Head Cannon.'

"I'll set one card under the table," Kahou said as the face down card appeared on the field. "My turn is over."

Yaku drew his card and looked at it, "Alright, this will work. Using its ability I summon Fusilier Dragon, The Dual Mode Beast," he announced as a dragon like tank with multiple cannons on it appeared on the field. (2800/2000) "This card allows me to summon it without a sacrifice as long as I cut its attack and defense in half," Yaku explained as the attack and defense of his monster changed. (1400/1000)

'Why'd he do that?' Kahou asked himself. 'It will still be weaker than Time Adjuster.'

"Now then, to enter my battle phase X-Head Cannon has to attack your Time Adjuster, so let's get to it," Yaku said as the clock on X-Head Cannon vanished and it continued to charge its cannons then firing them. The Time Adjuster released a beam of numbers that went under the cannon fire and blasted X-Head Cannon just as the strike from the X-Head Cannon hit Time Adjuster. The blasts destroyed X-Head Cannon while the scepter in Time Adjusters hand was blown to pieces.

"Too bad you didn't remember the other ability of my Time Scepter," Kahou said acting a little smug. "It gets destroyed instead of my Time Adjuster. If you had remembered that, you might have been able to…" suddenly X-Head Cannon reappeared on the field. "How did it return?" he asked stunned.

"My facedown Call of the Haunted brought it back for me," Yaku said chuckling. "Too bad you didn't count on me having a way to bring it back. Now X-Head Cannon, destroy Time Adjuster!" he called out as the X-Head Cannon fired another round of blasts at Time Adjuster destroying it.

"Good move," Kahou admitted. (7700)

"Thanks, now Fusilier, attack Kahou!" The dragon-tank began to charge up its own cannons when a dark machine appeared on Kahou's side of the field with a door and a window. The door opened and the Time Adjuster stepped out of the machine. (1500/1000) The machine vanished leaving Yaku growled.

"No plan is ever perfect," Kahou admitted. "So I planned on you possibly destroying Time Adjuster, and by doing that, it gave me enough sense to set my Time Machine trap."

"I end my turn," Yaku said annoyed. 'My Fusilier is out in the open now,' he thought growling.

'Kahou had that entire move planned out incase something went wrong,' Kokuro thought impressed. 'Yaku could be in trouble now.' Kahou drew his card and Kokuro thought he saw something weird happen with the vortex on the field. 'Did that vortex just pulse?' he asked himself. He kept watching the field but it didn't do it again, 'I must be imagining things.'

Kahou had taken the card he had drawn and slid it into the disk, "I activate Pot of Greed," he said as the jar appeared on the field. He drew two cards and the jar shattered and when he looked at his cards a huge smirk appeared on his field. 'Perfect, another of my favorite combos.' "I set one card under the table," he said as his face down card appeared on the field. "My turn is done," he said smirking as the cage of swords around him got dimmer.

Kokuro watched Kahou's smirk, 'He's definitely planning something. Watch out Yaku.'

Yaku drew his card and Kahou called out, "Reverse Trap, Time Change!"

"Time Change?" Yaku asked. "What does that do?"

"I can return one Time Monster from my field to my hand and then summon another monster as long as it has the same number of stars. So I'll take my Time Adjuster and return it to my hand in order to summon this, Time Stopper!" Suddenly a man in a dark, blue cape appeared on the field. He had a scepter in his hand with a ruby colored orb as the topper. The orb had the picture of an alarm clock on it. The Time Stopper had long black hair and the rest of his robes were black. (1900/1600) It raised its scepter and the engraved clock began to glow red. Two light red clocks appeared on both Fusilier and X-Head Cannon causing them to also glow a light red."

"What's going on?" Yaku asked.

"It's simple," Kahou said chuckling. "On the turn that Time Stopper is summoned, it is the only monster than can attack; but since it was summoned during your turn, that means none of your monsters can attack."

'That was an amazing move,' Kokuro thought amazed. 'These cards just keep getting more and more impressive each and every time I see them.'

"I may not be able to attack," Yaku said annoyed, "but I can still summon. So I'll tribute Fusilier to summon Android Psycho Shocker," he announced as the tank vanished and a large huminoid robot appeared on the field with a dark green cape. (2400/1500) "My Android Psycho Shocker will stop you from playing anymore traps," Yaku said smirking as the clock appeared on the machine freezing it. "My turn is done."

'And my Life Points could almost be done too if I don't draw something good now,' Kahou thought looking at his deck. 'He's got two powerful monsters on the field; I just need to survive until my Time Warp is finished.' He drew his card and was relieved to see what it was.

'Kahou looks happy to see his draw,' Kokuro thought watching them. It was then that he saw the vortex pulse once again. 'There it is again!' Kokuro thought. 'So I wasn't imagining things. It seems that during each of his Standby Phases, that thing does something, but what?'

This time, Yaku noticed it, "What's up with your vortex?" he asked. "It just pulsed, what was that all about?"

"It took you long enough to notice it," Kahou said smirking. "Well, during each of my standby phases, it counts down a turn. I won't tell you how many turns it needs to activate, but I will tell you that it will mark the end of our duel."

"We'll see about that," Yaku said stubbornly.

"I guess we will won't we? For now, I'm going to activate yet another rare card from the Time Monsters set." He slid the card into the disk and a card appeared on the field. The picture was of a brown treasure chest with beautiful jewels in it but a dark aura around it, and a man next to the treasure who was on the ground clutching his chest. "This is my Cursed Treasure card," he said. "Here's how it works, it grants me three draws," he said pulling three cards off the top of his deck and putting them into his hand. "However once I've drawn three cards, I must discard three cards from the top of my deck to the graveyard." He pulled three cards off his deck and looked at them quickly, Time Master, Time Traveler and Reset. He folded them together and slid them into the discard slot.

"So it's a drawing card," Yaku figured.

"Yes," Kahou said looking over his new hand, "and I prefer it over Pot of Greed, even though I do still use the old fashioned pot. Now then, I'll re-summon Time Adjuster," he said as the green ghost reappeared on the field. (1300/1000) "Since there are now two Time Monsters on the field it gains 400 attack points," he pointed out. (1700/1000) "Now I'll activate Time Scepter and I'll give it to Time Stopper." The Time Scepter appeared in Time Stoppers other hand and he twirled it around once. (2200/1600) "My turn is over."

The swords that had been stopping Kahou from attacking vanished as Yaku drew his card, "Now that it can attack, I'll send Android Psycho Shocker to attack Time Stopper!" The robot fired a beam of red energy at the Time Stopper that threw the Time Scepter at it causing it to be destroyed instead.

"Time Stopper isn't destroyed," Kahou pointed out. (7500)

"I know, but I didn't want it being too powerful," Yaku said. "Now, X-Head Cannon, attack Time Adjuster!" The monster fired a round of blasts at the Time Adjuster destroying it. (7400) "My turn is over," Yaku said.

Kahou drew his card and the pulse of the vortex was widely noticed this time, 'almost time,' Kahou thought proudly. 'And if luck holds out, it will work out perfectly.' "I summon Time Wizard," Kahou announced as the small little clock monster appeared on the field. (500/400) "Hello friend," he said to his Time Wizard. The Time Wizard seemed to turn to Kahou and smile at him. "Now Time Wizard, activate your ability!" The Time Wizards Roulette began to start spinning as Kahou produced a coin from his pocket. "Heads," he called out flipping the coin in the air.

The stadium around their duel seemed to stand still as the coin flipped in the air. It finally landed on the ground on its side and spun around a few moments before falling on heads. The time vortex opened and the X-Head Cannon and Android Psycho Shocker were sucked into it.

"No!" Yaku cried out in fear.

"It gets far worse," Kahou said taking a card and sliding it into his disk. "I activate Past," he said as the card with the picture of the Jurassic period appeared on the field. "This allows me to take one Time Monster from my graveyard and put it into my hand, but it won't be staying there since I also activate Present." The card depicting a city with cars and airplanes appeared on the field, "this allows me to take a Time Monster with four stars or less and summon it to the field, so I'll take the Time Adjuster I just pulled from my graveyard and summon it to the field."

The green ghost appeared once again on the field and as previous times, it got stronger. (1900/1000) "Be careful Yaku," Kokuro called out to his friend.

"He needs to be more than careful," Kahou said taking the last card in his hand and showing it to them both.

"Not Clockworks!" Yaku exclaimed.

Kahou's field spell slot slid out and he placed the card in, instantly placing them inside of the large machine factory with all the clock pieces and the gears that were moving around operating various machinery. "I'm sure you remember by now, that Clockworks gives all monsters with Time in their names an extra 500 attack points."

"I remember," Yaku growled as he watched the monsters get stronger, first Time Wizard, (1000/400) then Time Adjuster (2400/1000) and Time Stopper. (2400/1600)

"Yaku's completely unprotected," Kokuro said worriedly.

"That he is," Kahou said. "Go my Time Monsters, attack the player!" The three time monsters all let out their unique attacks, the Time Wizard who let out a ball of white energy, the Time Stopper that released a barrage of energy shaped like red clocks, and the Time Adjuster which shot out different colored numbers. All three attacks hit Yaku at the same time throwing him backwards as he landed hard on the ground. (2200) "It's the end of the line for you Yaku, it was a good duel but it's over now."

"Don't count on it," Yaku said standing as he drew. "Pot of Greed," he said drawing two cards. "Time to take this duel back, with a few new monsters I received compliments of my sister. First I summon V-Tiger Jet," he announced as a jet appeared on the field that was shaped like a yellow tiger. (1600/1800) "Next I activate Frontline Base, which will let me special summon a union monster of four stars or less, so with it I'll summon W-Wing Catapult," he announced as another jet like machine appeared on the field. However this one was blue and it had a catapult on it. (1300/1500)

"These are definitely new," Kokuro said looking at them.

"And just like my XYZ monsters, these two can also combine without the use of a Fusion, so I'll fuse them together, creating the brand new VW-Tiger Catapult!" he announced as the V-Tiger Jet combined with the W-Wing Catapult, getting on top of it and sparking with electricity. (2000/2100) "This cards ability allows me to discard one card from my hand to change the battle position of one monster," Yaku said holding his last card up daringly.

'That could be bad,' Kahou thought worriedly before he smirked, 'if it weren't already too late to stop me.'

"However, I need this card for later," Yaku said looking at Rare Metalmorph. 'This will allow me to keep my VW-Tiger Catapult safe from his other two monsters, so I can take out his Time Wizard and seriously damage his Life Points.' He set Rare Metalmorph and then looked over at Time Wizard, "VW-Tiger Catapult, destroy Time Wizard!" The two machines powered up their blasters and fired a round of energy blasts at Time Wizard destroying it.

Kahou protected himself from the wind that had picked up from the small explosion that had occurred, (6400) "if you might remember, any Time Monster destroyed when Clockworks is on the field is removed from play instead," he said as he took Time Wizard off his Duel Disk. "Thanks friend, this wouldn't have been possible with out you," he said to the card. He slid it into his pocket and looked at Yaku, "Are you done?"

"Yes I am," Yaku said smirking as he watched Time Adjuster weaken. (2200/1000)

"Good," Kahou said drawing, "Then it's time to finish this duel!" The vortex began pulsing rapidly and started to swirl faster than it had. "Five turns have passed, and now you'll see exactly what Time Warp has done to my Time Soldier!" The picture froze and began to go black and white, as Kahou stood there grinning while his vortex spun rapidly and Yaku and Kokuro both had worried looks on their faces.

To be concluded…


	29. So Much So Little Time Part 2

Sdrive: Not mine to claim ownership of. Also, I used the Janime rules of a card in this chapter, I didn't have access to the American version at the time. You should all know what I'm talking about when you see it. ALSO, I'm very excited to learn about the new Level Monsters that are coming out in Cyberdark Impact. You can be sure that Mia is going to be making additions to her deck. Be sure to look out for them.

* * *

Mia: Last time, on Ra Yellow.

_Kahou just stood there with his hand still extended, "I'm fine," he said smiling at Yaku. "I just want to wish my opponent a good game ahead of time."_

"_You're Yaku's opponent for the first round of the third match ups?" Kokuro asked shocked._

"_Yes," Kahou said nodding. "And unlike what happened with his sister, I don't plan on losing this time."_

_Kokuro thought to himself. 'Yaku's a good duelist, and he's an Obelisk Blue no less.' Kokuro watched as the duo drew their hands of five. 'But Kahou seems so confident in his abilities, and his deck is filled with strange monsters that no one's ever heard of.'_

"_I summon Time Solider" he announced as the small soldier with white armor on it and the various time clocks engraved in it appeared on the field. (600/900) "Now, it's time to activate a new card, Time Warp!" _

_Yaku drew his card and Kahou called out, "Reverse Trap, Time Change!"_

"_Time Change?" Yaku asked. "What does that do?"_

"_I can return one Time Monster from my field to my hand and then summon another monster as long as it has the same number of stars. So I'll take my Time Adjuster and return it to my hand in order to summon this, Time Stopper! On the turn that Time Stopper is summoned, it is the only monster than can attack; but since it was summoned during your turn, that means none of your monsters can attack."_

"_I'll tribute Fusilier to summon Android Psycho Shocker. My Android Psycho Shocker will stop you from playing anymore traps," Yaku said smirking._

"_I summon Time Wizard," Kahou announced. The time vortex opened and the X-Head Cannon and Android Psycho Shocker were sucked into it._

"_Go my Time Monsters, attack the player!" All three attacks hit Yaku at the same time throwing him backwards as he landed hard on the ground. (2200)_

"_First I summon V-Tiger Jet, Next I activate Frontline Base, so with it I'll summon W-Wing Catapult. And just like my XYZ monsters, these two can also combine without the use of a Fusion, so I'll fuse them together, creating the brand new VW-Tiger Catapult!"_

"_It's time to finish this duel!" The vortex began pulsing rapidly and started to swirl faster than it had. "Five turns have passed, and now you'll see exactly what Time Warp has done to my Time Soldier!" The picture froze and began to go black and white, as Kahou stood there grinning while his vortex spun rapidly and Yaku and Kokuro both had worried looks on their faces._

Yaku was growling as he watched the vortex prepare to summon…something. He didn't know what. All he knew was that he was currently behind with only 2200 Life Points and VW-Tiger Catapult on the field with a Rare Metalmorph hidden. Kahou had 6400 Life Points, three monsters on the field, and Clockworks activated.

'What could it be that he's summoning?' Kokuro wondered. His answer came quickly enough. From the inside of the vortex, the Time Soldier reappeared, yet he was much different. His Armor was pure silver, and it looked like he had gotten taller. He no longer wore a helmet, and it revealed his monster to have the face of a stern warrior with long black hair.

"What did Time Warp do to your Time Soldier?" Yaku asked Kahou.

Kahou was currently taking the Time Solider card from his pocket and placing it back on the field. "It's simple really; Time Warp removes one monster with 1000 attack points or less from play for five of my standby phases. If Time Warp is ever destroyed during that time, my monster stays out of play for the remainder of the duel. But while he is out of play, he's in another time training, and that training makes him stronger. In game turns, when he returns to the field he gains 2500 attack points."

"2500 attack points!" Kokuro exclaimed. Yaku and Kokuro watched in horror as Time Soldier's attack points skyrocketed. (3100/900) "But…Clockworks is also on the field…" just as he said it the power of Clockworks made Time Soldier begin to glow and get even stronger. (3600/900) "That thing is strong enough to wipe out almost all of Yaku's Life Points," Kokuro said shocked.

"It has the power to wipe out _all _of Yaku's Life Points," Kahou corrected. "If you remember, Time Soldier, due to his usually low attack power, can attack a player's Life Points directly."

'I'm finished!' Yaku thought stunned.

"Time Soldier, attack the player!" Kahou called out pointing his finger at Yaku. The soldier jumped up over VW-Tiger Catapult and brought its sword right down on Yaku who cried out in pain as the magical energies surged from it through him and blew him backwards as he landed on the ground with a loud thud. (0)

There was silence all around their arena, all spectators deaf to the noise of the other duels happening as the holograms vanished and Kahou cleared his cards off his disk before it refolded. He walked over to Yaku and helped him up, "I can't believe it," Yaku said astounded. "I didn't see that coming at all. I expected something big, but not that big."

"Well, I'm glad my card was a success," Kahou said laughing. "I almost blew the secret halfway through the duel because I was so excited."

Yaku was able to muster a laugh this time, "I didn't really have anything to stop you with anyway; but it would have been nice to know so I could have prepared to brace myself sooner. Good game," he said shaking Kahou's hand.

"You too," Kahou nodded to him.

"Have you seriously never played that card before?" Kokuro asked walking up to them.

"It was all a matter of timing," Kahou said. "I never got the chance too, but I'm sure glad I did this time."

"So, what are we going to do while we wait for lunch?" Kokuro asked.

"I heard a rumor that any duelists that finish early can report right to the new lunchroom after their duels," Yaku said.

"There's a new lunchroom?" Kahou and Kokuro asked simultaneously.

"Well, it's something that is usually open a lot sooner, but they added in one small duel arena since last year, or so the roomer goes," Yaku explained. "It's scheduled to have been opened for today's tournament."

"That's awesome," Kahou said. "Can we get down there right now?" he asked excitedly.

"Of course," Yaku said chuckling. "Let's go guys."

They started heading off towards the exit when something caught Kokuro's attention. Then again, a giant flaming bird-like sphinx rising from out of nowhere would tend to do that to a person. They turned around to see Sonomi and Mia standing just in front of them and Sonomi's opponent, an Osiris Red, who looked scared to death. Kokuro noticed that Sonomi was trapped in a Nightmare Steel Cage and that her opponent had a face up Watapon on the field.

"Your stalling tactics are over," Sonomi said smirking. "If I remove a Fire Attribute monster from my graveyard out of play my Infernal Flame Emperor can destroy a spell or trap card, and I can do this up to five times. So I'll remove my Thing in the Crater and my two UFO turtles from play to destroy your Nightmare Steel Cage and those two face down cards of yours." The flames around the flaming monster got stronger as the cage melted around them. It then formed two fireballs which it fired at the two facedown cards blowing them to pieces. "Infernal Flame Emperor, wipe out Watapon!" she commanded as it smashed its flaming paw into Watapon blasting it to pieces and wiping out the rest of her opponent's Life Points. The holograms vanished and Sonomi chuckled as she began to clean up her cards.

"Way to go Sonomi," Mia cheered.

"It was quite impressive," Kokuro said clapping.

Sonomi turned around quickly when she heard Kokuro's voice; her face showed a mixture of happiness and confusion. "I thought you were going to watch Yaku and Kahou's duel," she said walking up to him giving him a quick hug.

"The duel is over," he said pointing over to the other two duelists.

"Wow, Yaku must have cleaned house," Mia said feeling bad for Kahou.

"Actually Kahou is the one that cleaned _my _clocks," Yaku said. He then turned around to Kahou, "no pun intended."

"I'm so sure," Kahou said rolling his eyes.

"I'm serious," Yaku said chuckling.

"We're heading over to that new lunchroom for our break," Kokuro explained. "Care to join us?"

"Sure, I could use lunch," Sonomi replied. After Mia insisted on giving Kokuro a hug before they left, and after Kokuro not refusing, they were on their way out of the arena and off towards the lunchroom.

* * *

After a good half hour walk, which Kahou and Kokuro were both complaining about, they had reached yet another beach on the island, however this one was different than the one on the other side of the Volcano. For one thing it wasn't as impossible to get to as the other one, and for the second there was a decent sized building right on the beach as soon as you got there. In a display of bright, neon lights, a sign in the window, and also a place on the top of the building, read "The Simple Spot."

"The Simple Spot?" Kokuro asked.

"So they finally re-opened it!" Mia said happily.

"You've been here before?" Kokuro asked her.

"I used to work here," Mia said smiling.

"You worked here?" Kahou asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "This place is managed by the academy but is staffed by students," she explained. "And instead of money, we get KC points."

"That sounds like a lot of fun," Kokuro said. They walked inside and were pretty surprised to see the place. It was set up a lot like a restaurant, with tables and chairs and booths all around it. The tables were also put around the new main attraction, a dueling field. They sat down at a free table next to the arena as a waitress came around and gave them menus.

"Mia!" the waitress replied upon seeing her. She had low cut blonde hair and brown eyes and was wearing a small blue outfit.

"Nakai!" Mia said getting up and hugging the person. "How have things been going since I was last here?"

"It was boring ever since you left," Nakai said still looking excited. "Without this golden ray of sunshine here everything fell into darkness."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Mia said. "But I'm a student first and a waitress second."

"I understand," she said. "Well, what can I get you and your friends?"

"I'll have an iced tea," Mia said happily.

"Water," Sonomi replied.

"Chocolate Milk," Kahou said getting a couple of odd stairs. "What? I like chocolate."

"Soda please," Kokuro replied, "any kind is fine."

"You're Kokuro Samé," Nakai said surprised. "You're friends with Kokuro?" she asked turning to Mia.

"Yeah, I keep him out of trouble," she replied and the two of them began laughing while everyone else just kind of stared at them.

"And for you?" she asked turning to Yaku.

"How about a date on Friday?" he asked getting a smack from Sonomi.

"Don't prey on the waitresses because you can't get a date with anyone else," she said.

"Water please," he said rubbing his head.

"Alright, I'll be right out," she said running off.

"Had to say it didn't you?" Kokuro asked.

"Well, can't blame a guy for trying," Yaku said laughing.

Kokuro looked around and counted the people, "Where did Fuuten and Setsuna go?" he asked.

"Some of the female students challenged him to duels and Setsuna tagged along," Mia explained. "They wanted to see his Kuribohs." Kokuro nodded giving off a small smile.

Just then a girl wearing a purple dress came up to the table and looked at them kindly, "Greetings duelists," she said. Her hair was black and her blue eyes stared down at the friends sitting at the table. "I am wondering if any of you would care for a duel, I am terribly bored and would like to find some entertainment."

"You may have the looks of a student but you don't really seem to act like one," Kokuro pointed out. "Not to be rude."

"I took no offense," the girl said smiling. "I just like to get dressed up and act a bit older than my age."

Kokuro nodded, satisfied with her answer, and accepted his drink from Nakai who had returned. He started sipping it as he watched Nakai talk with the newcomer.

"Sariana," Nakai said, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was curious as to if one of these fine young duelists would care to join me in a duel," she replied.

'Young duelists?' Kokuro thought to himself. "Again, no offense, but you look younger than me," Kokuro said.

"Biologically I'm 15, but mentally I'm in my mid 20's," Sariana replied.

"Sure," Kokuro said going back to sipping, he didn't at all believe her but he figured what the heck, if she wanted to be twenty who was stopping her.

"You look like a tough duelist," Sariana said to Kokuro. "I like my men a little on the tough side, why don't you duel me?"

Kokuro's eyebrow rose slightly as he looked up at her, "Can't," he finally said. "I'm in the tournament, I'm not allowed in any duels until it's over."

"That's a shame," she said. "Are all of you in the tournament?"

"I got defeated," Yaku admitted.

"I'm not sure I want to duel someone who got defeated," Sariana replied. "I need a real challenge or else the duel will be boring."

"Now wait just a minute," Kokuro said looking up again. "Yaku is a great duelist, who are you to tell him he won't give you a good duel?"

"If someone has lost, then they obviously don't have as much power as someone else," she replied. "And after all, isn't Duel Monsters all about power?" she asked.

"No, that's not right at all," Kokuro said getting annoyed. "Duel Monsters is about having fun, and making new friends."

"Oh? According to what I've heard Master Kaiba say, that's not true at all," Sariana said getting a smile on her face, "Master Kaiba, now _there _is someone who knows what Duel Monsters is all about." A sigh escaped her, "Master Kaiba is a strong, handsome man who knows some of the best strategies of Duel Monsters; and one day, he and I will be together."

"Excuse me?" Sonomi asked disgusted.

"You heard me," Sariana said getting defensive. "One day I'll be Master Kaiba's wife!"

Sonomi let out a loud, "Ha!" She smirked at Sariana, "You're 15 years old, and Master Kaiba is in his late twenties. He would never go for someone like you, unless he wanted to be called a pedophile for the rest of his life."

"If you remember, my maturity is much larger than one of your average 15 year olds," Sariana shot back. "And I'll make sure I get noticed, by dueling all the strongest opponents and winning against them. So I challenge Kokuro Samé to a duel."

"What part of I can't do that since I'm in the tournament are you not understanding?" Kokuro asked highly annoyed. "Besides, if you want to duel strong opponents, it's her you have to face," he pointed to Mia.

"Me?" Mia asked pointing to herself.

"Yep," Kokuro said taking another sip. "She's beaten me in a duel fair and square, and if I'm the one who's lost against her, I'm not so strong now am I?"

Sariana grinned, "I'll duel her, but only because you're too worried about that stupid tournament you're in. After all, it's common knowledge that Master Kaiba has his eyes on you." She couldn't help but let out a small, depressed sigh, "If only he had his eyes on me instead. But no matter, once I defeat his star duelist, he'll have no choice but to notice me."

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Mia asked.

"I'm positive," Sariana said. "And we'll use the regular rules too; the winner gains 50 KC Points."

"Wait, what?" Kahou asked confused.

"Sariana is this restaurants' main duelist," Nakai explained. "If anyone can defeat her, they gain 50 KC Points, and if they can't she gets them. Needless to say she's really good."

"Apparently," Yaku said watching the two girls go into the arena.

'I don't care how good she is,' Sonomi thought to herself. 'If Mia can make me tremble at her powers, then that should be proof enough at how strong she is.'

'Take her down Mia,' Kokuro thought.

"As per our rules, the challenged goes first," Sariana said shuffling her deck before drawing her hand of five.

"With pleasure," Mia said mimicking but drawing six. She browsed through her hand before selecting some cards, "I'll summon Ultimate Insect LV3," she said playing the card as the slithering blue and red bug appeared on the field. (1400/900) "I'll also set one card under the table," she said fitting her card in the disk and watching it appear on the field. "It's your move."

"A nice move but not going to win you this duel I'm afraid," Sariana said pulling a card off the top of her deck. "Well, this is as good an opening as ever, I use my Thunder Dragon's special ability," she said turning the card around for Mia to see. "This card allows me to toss it to the graveyard in order to pull two more from my deck," she said taking her deck out and searching for the two Thunder Dragons. Shuffling she put her deck back and added the cards to her hand.

"Deck thinning," Sonomi said absentmindedly. "She's looking for something."

"It's a good guess," Nakai said to her, "but I'm afraid she isn't deck thinning."

Sonomi was a little startled as she watched Sariana and sure enough, Nakai had spoken truthfully. "I activate my Fusion," Sariana announced. "This allows me to fuse the two Thunder Dragons from my hand and summon the powerful Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon!" The two green dragons appeared on the field and melded together within a vortex before a purplish, orange dragon with two heads and a purple horn on each head appeared on the field. (2800/2100)

"I honestly didn't think anyone still used that card other than Master Kaiba," Sonomi admitted.

"Why not?" Kokuro asked looking at her. "It sure is powerful enough."

'It sure is,' Mia thought looking at it. 'And if I want to keep my Ultimate Insect, I have to take a big hit.'

"Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, attack her not-so Ultimate Insect with Double Lightning Blast!" The two heads charged lightning into their horns before firing them at the bug.

"Reverse Interdimensional Matter Transporter!" Mia called out as the giant machine appeared and fired a blue ray at the bug causing it to be sucked into the machine as molecules.

"Fine, direct attack!" Sariana said unphased.

Mia braced herself as the lightning blasts struck her hard sending her to her knees. (5200)

"Are you alright?" Kokuro asked worried.

"I'll be fine," she said slowly standing up.

"Pathetic," Sariana said bored. "I don't see what you find so special about her Kokuro, but whatever. My turn is done."

The Ultimate Insect re-appeared on the field as the machine shattered into pixels. Mia drew her card and watched as her but began to glow. "Now you'll see why I took such a strong hit," Mia began. "My Ultimate Insect is a Level Monster; that means that during its standby phase it evolves into the next level, which is LV5."

"Cue the Pokémon Evolution music," Kahou muttered.

As the bug grew it became a large larva-like monster with a grey shell and very sharp antenna and legs. (2300/900) "And now for my monsters ability, now that it leveled up using its effect, your monster loses 500 attack points."

Sariana watched as her Thunder Dragon dropped in power, (2300/2100) "They're equal, a mere annoyance," she stated.

"For now they are," Mia said taking two cards from her hand, "but that will change soon enough. I set one card under the table," she did so, "and I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4." A metallic dragon with the head of a falcon appeared on the field. (1600/1000) "It's your turn."

Sariana drew her card and put it into her hand with the others before taking another, "I activate Fusion Recovery," she said as the spell appeared. "This allows me to bring back one Fusion and one monster I've used in a Fusion from the graveyard to my hand." She collected Fusion and Thunder Dragon and added them to her hand.

"I get it now," Kokuro said watching. "Her deck is a Fusion Deck."

"That's right," Nakai said nodding. "But her deck has new kinds of Fusion Monsters as well, some that have their very own set."

"What kind are those?" Kahou asked.

"You'll see," Nakai said.

"It's time for this duel to get hotter," Sariana said. "I'm about to summon a very special fusion monster, one that has its own set of monsters that go with it."

"And just what is this monster?" Mia asked.

"I activate Fusion, and I'll fuse the E-Hero Featherman and the E-Hero Burst Lady in my hand to summon the mighty E-Hero Flame Wingman!" The two monsters, one a green man like monster with wings, and the other a woman wearing a red, skin tight suite, appeared on the field before merging together to form a green, muscular monster with a red dragon tail and a red dragon head for it's right hand. (2100/1200)

"What's an E-Hero?" Mia asked.

"It stands for Elemental Hero," Sariana explained. "There are many E-Hero's and they can all fuse together with each other to make powerful fusion monsters."

"So, if they are all fusion monsters, why not make an E-Hero deck?" Mia asked.

"Because I like to have diversity in my duels," she continued. "Sure they all may join together in different forms, but they are always the same monsters you're fusing. By using different monsters you get more diversity, and in my opinion, more power. So I only use two of the E-Hero's."

"I suppose whatever makes you happy then," Mia said shrugging.

"I told you before, power is what makes me happy, and currently your Ultimate Insect is interfering with it," she watched as her Wingman's attack lowered. (1600/1200) "So I'll give it more power by activating Fusion Weapon, this equips to a fusion monster and gives it a 1500 point boost if its level six or lower. A red claw appeared on Flame Wingman's left arm, seemingly fused to it, and his attack power went up. (3100/1200)

"It's stronger than both my monsters!" Mia called out in shock.

"Stay strong Mia!" Yaku said encouraging her.

"You can do it," Kokuro agreed.

"No she can't," Sariana smirked, "Wingman, wipe out her Ultimate Insect!"

"I'm afraid that is a monster I'm not willing to lose just yet," Mia called out as her Shadow Spell trap had reversed and black chains shot out entrapping the Elemental Hero. (2400/1200)

"Well I won't give you a choice in the matter," Sariana replied. "Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, Suicide Strike!" she called out. The Thunder Dragon shot a bolt of lightning at the Ultimate Insect while it released a poisonous toxin. The two attacks hit their targets and both were destroyed. Flame Wingman gained back some of its lost attack power. (2900/1200)

'I really didn't expect her to do that,' Mia thought to herself.

'That bug more than likely would have evolved again,' Sariana thought, 'I needed to take it out at all costs.' "My turn is over," she announced.

"Then it's time for my move," Mia replied drawing her card. 'Awesome, this is just what I need to take out her Flame Wingman.' "I summon Silent Magician LV4," she said as the small little magician girl appeared on the field. (1000/1000) "Next I activate this, Level Up!"

"Awesome!" Kahou said. "That will jump her Silent Magician all the way to its last level."

'Damn it, this isn't good,' Sariana admitted.

The small magician began to grow, and as she did, her body matured and her attack power rose, "meet Silent Magician LV 8," Mia smiled. (3500/1000)

"3500!" Sariana gasped. "I knew it would be stronger…but by a full 2500 points!"

"Normally my Silent Magician would steadily gain attack points each time you drew a card, but I don't have that kind of time to wait."

"You go girl!" Yaku said giving a high five to Kahou.

Kokuro and Sonomi were both smirking, "Looks like Mia has this duel won," Sonomi mentioned.

"Fusion monsters can be strong," Kokuro replied. "But with her Silent Magician LV8 on the field, I don't see much to worry about."

"Silent Magician LV8, attack with Magic Shock Blast!" the magician powered up her staff and then shot a white energy ball of magic at the Flame Wingman destroying it. (7400) "Now Horus, attack the player!" Horus flew up and released black fire from its beak that engulfed Sariana causing her to cry out in pain. (5800)

"I admit," she said breathing heavily, "You have some skill."

"Thanks," Mia said, "you too. My turn is over."

Sariana drew her card and glanced at it before playing it, "Pot of Greed," she said drawing two cards. "I activate Re-Fusion!" she said playing the card, "it costs me 800 Life Points but then I can bring back a Fusion Monster from my graveyard to the field." (5000) "Welcome back E-Hero Flame Wingman," she said as the Elemental Hero re-appeared on the field. (2100/1200)

"Why did she do that?" Kahou asked. "Her Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon was stronger."

"I don't know," Yaku admitted.

"You'll see," Nakai said to them grinning, "Just watch."

"Flame Wingman, attack Horus LV4," Sariana commanded. The fusion monster leaped up and began to combust. "Skydive Scorcher!" she called out. The warrior flew down and rammed into Horus destroying it immediately."

"My Horus," Mia said upset. (4700) Unexpectedly Flame Wingman then went in front of Mia and released a stream of flames from its dragon hand right onto her causing her to scream out. (3100)

"Mia!" everyone with the exception of Nakai called out.

"That would be Wingman's special ability," Nakai commented.

"Whenever Wingman destroys a monster, the equivalent of your monsters attack points are dealt to you as damage," Sariana explained as the Wingman flew back to her side of the field.

"I get it now," Kokuro said. "Thunder Dragon may have been stronger, but Wingman could cause more damage."

"It appears that was her strategy," Sonomi agreed.

"My turn is done," Sariana said waving her hand.

"My move," Mia called out drawing as a very familiar sound came to her. She turned to Sonomi and Kokuro, who were smiling, and smiled back. She added the card to her hand, "First off I'll summon a personal favorite, Silent Swordsman LV3," she said as she took another card and placed it down, causing the green, blue robed swordsman to appear on the field resting his sword on his back. (1000/1000)

"And she begins her favorite line of Level Monsters," Sonomi said smiling a little. 'Come to think of it, she's never told me why those are her favorites,' Sonomi thought puzzled.

"Silent Magician LV8, destroy Flame Wingman again!" Mia called out as the magician destroyed it just as it had before. (3600) "Silent Swordsman, attack Sariana directly!" the swordsman leaped forward and brought its sword down on Sariana, pushing her back slightly. (2600) Silent Swordsman returned to Mia's side of the field and she looked over at Sariana, "now that my two favorite monsters are out, you're going to have a really hard time beating me."

"We'll see about that," Sariana said drawing her card, and after seeing it, smiled almost sinisterly. "I told you earlier, Duel Monsters is all about power, and I'm going to show you that right now," she said holding the card in her hand. "I'm quite surprised that Master Kaiba himself never used this card, but I have it, and when it comes time to showing him my feelings, I'll use it on him to win."

"And just what card is it?" Mia asked.

"It's a handy card called Future Fusion," she said sliding the card into her duel disk. "Here's how it works, when I activate it, I can send monsters from my deck to my graveyard in order to summon a Fusion Monster that fuses those monsters. The card is then equipped to that monster and should the card ever be destroyed, the monster is also destroyed. Also, the monster can't attack this turn, but that won't be a real problem."

"She can practically summon _anything _now!" Kahou said amazed.

"Now, I send Des Kangaroo and Big Koala from my deck to the graveyard to summon the most powerful beast my deck can come up with, no pun intended!" The two monsters appeared on the field and swirled together to form a large green koala with a blue vest and boxing gloves on it. (4200/3700)

"Holy cow!" Kahou said amazed. "That…that is a _big _koala!"

"No, this is Master of Oz," Sariana corrected. "And it is my strongest monster."

"I'll bet it is," Yaku said, almost shivering in fright.

'Hang in there Mia,' Kokuro thought.

"Since Master of Oz can't attack this turn I'll simply end, but next turn, you're going to find yourself in a lot of trouble."

Mia drew her card and frowned, 'Horus LV6 won't be enough to help me right now,' she thought. She added it to her hand and watched as her Silent Swordsman began to evolve, he got taller and his sword also got longer. (2300/1000) "My Silent Swordsman evolves into Silent Swordsman LV5, but I'm summoning him on guard," she said as the swordsman crouched down once it was fully evolved. "I'll also switch my Silent Magician on guard," she said as her magician crouched down and took a defensive stance. "I have to end my turn from here," she said.

Sariana smirked as she drew her card, 'Fusion Gate,' she thought looking at it. 'I'll keep it for later.' "Now it's time to show you the true horrors of my Master of Oz. Oz, attack Silent Magician!" The giant koala charged forward delivering a right hook to Silent Magician's face destroying her, Kokuro and Mia both looked away. "My turn is over, and so is this duel."

"Not yet," Mia said drawing her card. "I'll activate Graceful Charity," she said activating the card. "Now I draw three times as long as I discard twice." Mia pulled three cards from her deck and looked at them. 'Hey, this will work,' she thought looking at them. "I discard Hane Kuriboh LV10 and Horus LV6 from my hand," she said sliding the two into the graveyard. "Now I activate the spell card Level Modulation," she said as she played her next card.

Sariana's Duel Disk prompted her to draw two cards, "what's this all about?" she asked pointing to her disk.

"Level Modulation allows you to draw two cards and then I can summon any monster with LV in its name from my graveyard as long as I don't use its effect or attack with it this turn," Mia explained.

"Very well," Sariana said drawing two cards. 'Perfect,' she thought smirking.

"Now I bring Hane Kuriboh LV10 to the field!" Mia announced as the small Hane Kuriboh with the large wings and golden, dragon armor appeared on the field. (300/200)

"What is that?" Kokuro asked stunned.

"It's a card that Yaku's sister Elda sent me," Mia explained. "And even though it's not a traditional LV monster, it still has LV in its name so that means that Level Modulation works perfectly with it."

"It still has its same attack and defense of regular Hane Kuriboh," Sonomi pointed out. "Yet it's a LV10. That means that it must have some kind of powerful effect."

"Let's just find out what," Kokuro said.

"Now, for extra protection, I'll set one card under the table," Mia said as the card appeared. "It's your turn."

Sariana drew her card and added it to her hand, "Sorry Mia, but I know all about your Hane Kuriboh LV10."

"But how?" Mia asked stunned.

"Raburomansu came in earlier today," Sariana explained. "He seemed depressed so I went to find out why. He told me about how you defeated him with the aid of that new card and what it did, so I'm sorry to be informing you that I'll be ridding it of the field before I enter my battle phase."

"How can you do that?" Mia asked.

"By playing Dark Core," she said activating the card.

"What's Dark Core?" Kokuro asked.

"It's a weakened version of Karma Cut," Sonomi said worriedly.

"Oh," Kokuro said watching on. "What's Karma Cut?"

As Sonomi explained Sariana was explaining the ability of Dark Core, "I discard one card from my hand," she said sliding Big Bang Shot into her graveyard, "And now I can remove one monster on your side of the field from play for the remainder of the duel."

"No!" Mia announced as a dark hole rippling with electricity appeared on the field sucking in the Hane Kuriboh LV10 before vanishing. Mia sadly put the card in her skirt pocket, 'Sorry Elda,' she thought.

"Now, I activate Fusion Gate!" Sariana said as her field card slot opened up and she placed the card in as dark swirling clouds began to form above them. "Now I can simply remove my monsters from play to fuse them without using Fusion. So I'll remove the Spirit Ryu and Warrior Dai Grepher from my hand to summon a powerful monster!"

"Mia," Sonomi said softly. Kokuro, not taking his eyes off the field, put his hand over hers.

_The world around Kokuro and Sonomi went completely white with one lone figure standing in the center of the white world. He was a boy around 15 years old, wearing a red sports jacket, blue sweat pants, and a grey shirt underneath the sports jacket. His face was determined with a hint of amusement on it, and his green eyes didn't falter. His black hair was not quite short, and was combed neatly to the left. He had a Duel Disk on his arm, but it was one they had never seen before._

"_I activate Fusion Gate," the boy said placing the card into the field slot on the unfamiliar disk. "It allows me to remove monsters from play when Fusion Summoning without the use of a Fusion card," he explained. So I'll remove Spirit Ryu and Warrior Dai Grepher from play in order to summon a very powerful monster," the two monsters appeared on the field as did the dark swirling clouds. They melded together until only one being stood in front of him. It was a man with large muscles wearing black, blue, and purple armor. The shoulder blades were sharply curved, like that of a dragon. His blue helmet had a green jewel in the center, a purple eye visor, and a golden mouth piece, in the back it went down as if it had a dragon tail. In his hands was a large dual blade sword. (2000/1200)_

The white world faded but the monster remained, they were both slightly sweating as Sariana called out the name, "Ryu Senshi."

Kokuro, feeling a little dizzy, looked over at Sonomi and noticed that she looked dizzy too, 'that was weird,' he thought to himself.

'Was that a hallucination?' Sonomi asked herself. 'I felt…I felt as though I know that boy.'

"Sonomi," Kokuro said to her, getting almost no response. "Sonomi," he said again, this time she seemed to hear and turned her head. "Are you alright, you look a little dizzy."

"I'm fine," she lied, "just a little hungry." She looked back at the duel, 'I can't tell Kokuro I'm hallucinating, if that's even what really happened.'

"Ryu Senshi, attack her Silent Swordsman!" Sariana called out. "Sword of Dragon Soul!" Ryu Senshi charged at the Silent Swordsman and it seemed as though a dragon's spirit was encircling his blade.

"Not so fast," Mia called out, "I activate Zero Gravity. This will change the battle positions of all face up monsters," she said smiling.

Sariana smirked, "Ryu Senshi, do your stuff." The warrior stopped and concentrated on his sword. Him and Sariana glowed momentarily before the spirit of a long silver dragon appeared, seemingly overlapping the top sword blade. He pointed it at the trap card and a silver energy shot from his sword hitting the trap and destroying it. (1600)

"What just happened?" Mia asked.

"Whenever you try to activate a Normal Trap Card, I can pay 1000 Life Points to have Ryu Senshi negate and destroy it, oh, and spells won't work on Ryu Senshi if they target him. Now that all that is finished, Ryu Senshi, continue your original attack path!" The dragon warrior raced forward, and the same dragon that swirled around his sword earlier appeared again as he sliced Silent Swordsman in half destroying him.

"She'll lose the duel!" Yaku cried out.

"Poor Mia," Kahou said while Kokuro kept hold of Sonomi's hand.

"Master of Oz, show her our power! Down Under Destruction!" The large koala charged forward and brought its fist down onto Mia.

"I discard Kuriboh," Mia called out sending Kuriboh to the graveyard just in time for it to appear to take the attack for her.

"You survived this round," Sariana said, clearly loving the moment, "but you won't get so lucky next time. My turn is done."

Mia nervously drew her card and smiled, "I activate Reload," she said playing the card. "I return the two cards in my hand to my deck, shuffle, and then redraw the same number of cards I returned." She put her two cards in and shuffled before replacing them and drawing her two cards, 'this will buy me a little time,' Mia said looking at them. 'I hope,' she added as an after thought.

"Did you get anything to help you?" Sariana asked almost mockingly.

"Actually I did," Mia said showing Sariana her Premature Burial. "I activate Premature Burial by paying 800 Life Points in order to bring back Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6," she announced. (2300) A larger version of Horus LV4 appeared on the field staring down at Master of Oz. (2300/1600) "Horus, destroy Ryu Senshi," she called out as the dragon flew up and created a burst of black fire to erupt from its beak, engulfing Ryu Senshi and destroying him.

Sariana covered herself from the blast, (1300) "a nice try but futile I'm afraid."

"I'm afraid not," Mia said taking her last card in her hand and putting it in her disk. "One card under the table, and I end my turn. And since Horus destroyed a monster during battle this turn, he evolves into Horus The Black Flame Dragon LV8!" The largest of the Horus family appeared on the field, spreading its large wings and roaring loudly, it was truly a sight to behold. (3000/1800) "You should know, that Horus allows me to choose what Spells get activated and which don't."

"I know what Horus does," Sariana growled drawing her Fusion Sage. "Not that it matters, it won't be around any longer, Master of Oz, destroy her Horus!"

"My Shadow Spell says differently," Mia said as black chains erupted from the ground and held the koala in place. (3500/3700)

"You have two?" gasped Sariana.

"I had to pack a lot of powerful cards to protect my other Level Monsters for when they are in their weaker state," Mia said smiling.

"Horus is still 500 points too weak," she grumbled. "Take your turn."

Mia drew her one card and looked at it for a moment, "Uh, Sariana, you said that if Future Fusion was destroyed, your Master of Oz would be destroyed right?"

Sariana's eyes widened, and it was clear the fear that was in them; Sonomi just smirked, "I'd say that's all the answer you need Mia!" she said to her friend.

Mia nodded at her; "I activate Heavy Storm!" she called out as a giant gust of wind came through the field. The dark clouds were sucked in as well as the chains which were destroyed. However once the wind struck the Future Fusion card the Master of Oz clutched its heart and fell over with a loud thud before blowing to pixels.

"No…" Sairana whimpered in disbelief.

"Horus, finish this duel off!" Mia cried excitedly. Horus flew up and fired what could almost look like a beam of dark purple flames which engulfed Sariana completely causing her to scream out in great pain as her Life Points plummeted. (0)

Once the fire subsided Horus floated back down as he vanished. Kokuro and Sonomi jumped up excitedly and hugged each other as Yaku and Kahou high fived.

"You've been Leveled Up," Mia smiled flashing her peace sign.

Sariana sat there, on her knees, quietly thinking to herself, 'Master Kaiba…I've failed you. Please forgive me.' Tears began forming in her eyes and she quickly swept them away, but not quick enough for Mia to not see.

"Sariana, are you alright?" Mia asked her.

"I'm fine," she said gruffly, standing up she stared at Mia, "the KC Points will be transferred to your account." Without giving Mia a chance to say thank you she turned around and left the arena.

Mia joined her friends shortly and sat down as Nakai ran off to get their food, "That was incredible," Yaku said to her.

"Just what does that Hane Kuriboh LV10 do?" Kokuro asked her.

"During the battle phase I can offer it to destroy all face up attack monsters and do damage to the opponent equal to the original attack of the monsters destroyed to my opponent's Life Points," she said.

The others just stood there, eyes wide, "Dang," Kahou said. "Remind me not to face you."

Mia giggled as Sonomi asked her, "So, what's with that, 'You've been leveled up,' thing you said to her?"

"I've kind of given myself my own catch phrase," Mia said sheepishly.

"Wouldn't 'you've been leveled down,' make more sense?" she asked bluntly.

"Well, when I first said it, I had the idea that my Level Monsters Level Up, and when they defeat an opponent it was due to leveling up."

"Yeah and besides," Kokuro said grinning, "I don't think I've seen a video game where characters level down." The group pondered this as Nakai came back looking a little embarrassed, "what's wrong?" he asked her.

"I kinda ran off to get your food before realizing that I never took your orders to begin with." They all let out a sigh as they began to order.

Once Nakai had went off to put in the orders the group began talking to each other, and eventually the duel came up, "I didn't realize Ryu Senshi could negate traps," Mia said chuckling.

"Ryu Senshi is not a really rare card, but it's rarely seen used," Yaku said. "You can't be blamed for not knowing how it worked."

"You guys are going to think I'm crazy," Kokuro said getting their attention. "But right before Ryu Senshi finished forming, I kind of had this crazy daydream of some kid who used the same Fusion Gate, Spirit Ryu, and Dai Grepher combo," he said chuckling as Sonomi's eyes darted to him. "I don't know why in the world I thought of it though."

"You had that same hallucination," Sonomi asked.

Kokuro's head turned to face her, "Wait…what did this kid look like?"

Sonomi shrugged, "umm…black hair, red jacket, blue sweats."

"With green eyes, grey shirt, and strange Duel Disk?" Kokuro asked.

"Yeah," Sonomi said thinking back. "It was even weirder because even though I've never seen him before, I felt as though I knew him."

"Same," Kokuro said nodding before shrugging, "we're just crazy is all."

"You're all a bunch of loony's," Satoshi said walking up to their table.

"And just what are you doing here?" Kokuro asked annoyed.

"I caught the middle of your friends duel and watched her beat the crap out of Sariana," he replied. "I figured I'd come congratulate her, beating Sariana is no easy task."

"Oh…" Mia said, "well thanks."

"You should seriously consider dueling more," Satoshi said to her, "You'd make a fine addition to Obelisk Blue. Wouldn't you agree Yaku?"

Yaku kind of looked down, "Yeah," he said. "But she would have to wait for midterms," he pointed out. "Which are coming up in a few weeks."

"Already?" Kokuro asked shocked. "But the year just began," he argued.

"Do you ever pay attention in class?" Satoshi asked him angrily. "You must not if you haven't realized yet that they're just around the corner."

"Aww man," Kokuro said bummed out, "I hate midterms. Two hours of taking tests," he sipped uncaringly on his drink, "Even though I usually score well I'm really a bad test taker. I'm better with homework than I am tests."

"Well you'd better step it up if you want to be in the graduation match," Yaku said grinning.

"What's that?" Kokuro asked.

Satoshi just grumbled, "this kid's hopeless," he said as he walked off.

Kokuro kind of glared at Satoshi before turning back to Yaku, "So, what is it?"

"The graduating Obelisk Blue student with the highest grade at the end of the year, the valedictorian in other words, gets to be in the last official duel," Yaku explained. "Not only that, but they get to choose from anyone in the school who they want to duel."

"Oh cool," Kokuro replied impressed.

"Elda was the valedictorian of her graduating class," Yaku said. 'Mostly because she cheated when I gave her the answers,' he thought chuckling to himself. "I've always wanted to follow in her footsteps but I have a good feeling that this year it will be Kazuki that gets it."

"It wouldn't surprise me," Sonomi said. "However once he's graduated that will leave me to take up the legacy."

Kahou nodded, "Yeah, no doubt it will be you," Kahou said chuckling.

"What if I wanna be the valedictorian?" Kokuro asked.

"Do you even know what valedictorian means?" Mia asked.

"No," Kokuro admitted.

"Maybe Satoshi was right then," Sonomi said offhand.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kokuro asked annoyed.

"Yaku already explained what a valedictorian was," she replied.

"Oh…" was all Kokuro could respond with.

"Valedictorian is the highest ranking student in a graduating class," Yaku repeated. "In other words, they're pretty much a straight A+ student."

"Which you my friend," Sonomi said patting him on the shoulder, "are not."

"I get a couple A's," Kokuro retorted. "The rest are B's."

"Like he said, you have to get straight A's," Sonomi smirked. "Like me."

Kokuro growled a bit before smiling, "Fine then. I never back down from a challenge, we'll just see who gets first place."

"Deal," Sonomi said shaking his hand. "May the best woman win."

"I'm not a woman," Kokuro replied dryly.

"Exactly," she replied smirking.

Once their lunch was consumed they began getting ready to leave the restaurant. They were just about out when Kahou's eyes just happened to catch one of the waitresses, "hey guys, I'll head on over a little later, I wanna go talk to someone that I just spotted."

Kokuro, being curious and slightly nosey by nature, glanced in Kahou's line of sight but didn't see anyone, "yeah sure," he said shrugging. "Catch ya later," he said walking off.

"Bye Kahou," Mia said waving. They walked off as Kahou ran towards the waitress.

"What are you doing here?" he asked when he got to her.

The startled waitress turned around, "oh, I work here," she said shyly.

"You know that Kokuro was here don't you?" he asked her.

The waitress, whose whole face couldn't be seen, began to blush, "he was!"

"When are you going to finally confront him?" he asked her.

There was nervousness in her voice, "s…so…soon."

"Why don't I believe you?" Kahou asked her sounding disappointed.

"I…I'm serious!"

"You better hurry up," Kahou said turning around. "He's been my friend from day one at the academy, I don't like not telling him about this."

"I will…I promise."

"I hope so," he said walking off. "For your sake anyway," he added as an afterthought.

* * *

Deep in the forest of the academy, Raburomansu was having a difficult time keeping his footing as he walked along one of the more rocky parts of the "trail," he was on. He tripped over a rock he didn't see and found a part of dirt with no rocks to push against with his hand, avoiding serious injury. He got up, sweat pouring down his face, and continued on. "What the hell am I doing here anyway?" he asked himself.

_The man reached into the pocket on his coat and pulled out a folded piece of paper and put it out for Raburo to take. "If you truly want her to be yours, follow the instructions on this paper."_

_Raburo unfolded the paper and read the short note written, _

"_If you want the ability to have all your dreams met, go on the trail into the forest and when you reach the first fork in the road, go left. At the second, don't take either but instead go straight ahead. Follow until you get to the waterfall and wait there." When he looked up though the man was gone. _

_Earlier that day he went to "The Simple Spot," and sat down, 'I don't know if I should go through with this,' he thought to himself looking at the paper. He felt the sound of footsteps approaching and he put the paper away before Sariana sat down next to him._

"_What's wrong with you?" she asked. He proceeded to explain to her all about his duel against Mia, leaving out the part about the stranger once she left, and then asked if she had any advice. "You won't get anything you want without a little force," Sariana said. "You haven't showed Mia your true potential; she'll never accept you unless you do."_

"_But I tried that already, and she almost never wanted to speak to me again," he explained._

"_You're weak Raburo," Sariana said simply. "You obsess over defeating one person."_

"_Hypocrite," Raburo muttered, causing Sariana to slap him hard across the face._

"_I don't make a deck centered on defeating one person!" she shot back. "I use a deck to my liking, and hope that it will be enough to impress Master Kaiba, and maybe even beat him. But I'm not so obsessed with trying to defeat him that I need to resort to making an Anti-Kaiba deck; doing that is childish and stupid. If you want to truly impress her, you need to use your own strategy and show her that you're not afraid to take her on with your own skills."_

'Sariana had a point,' Raburo said as he continued on, 'but that doesn't explain why I'm out here. All that guy told me was that if I really wanted Mia, I had to follow the instructions on this note,' he took it out and reread it. 'I don't even know if I can trust that guy.'

Suddenly, walking from the shadow of a tree not to far away, Peaches emerged chuckling, "So you did decide to take up my offer."

"But the instructions said to meet someone at the waterfall," Raburo began.

"The waterfall is located elsewhere," Peaches explained cutting him off.

"But that means that you sent me to wander around out here for nothing!" Raburo yelled.

"No, I gave you a note with wrong directions so that if you lost it, anyone who found it would only be on a wild goose chase."

"That's it I'm out of here," Raburo said walking away.

"Not so fast, don't you want your little girlfriend?" Peaches asked him.

"I don't trust you," Raburo said turning his head to look at him.

"Well then allow me to send you to someone you can," he said tossing a folded up piece of paper at him. Raburo caught it and opened it up, "and these are true directions."

"But…this is…" Raburo began.

"Yes it is," Peaches replied. "And if you wish to talk with my employer, then you best hurry along, he doesn't want you if you take too long to decide." Raburo looked between Peaches and the paper. "Do it for the little girl," he added.

Raburo clenched the paper in his hand and walked off towards the place mentioned on the paper. Peaches growled slightly and pulled out the cell phone, punching a number in on speed dial, and waited for the answer.

"What is it?" asked the dark voice from earlier.

"The rich kid with green hair is on his way," Peaches replied.

"Excellent."

"What are we waiting for anyway?" Peaches asked irritably.

"Seto Kaiba is the sole guardian of what I seek, he is not to be dealt with lightly."

"I understand that," Peaches replied, "but why wait so long, don't we have enough recruits?"

"If our mission is to be a success, we must wait until that school's, 'Parent's Night,' is over. If we don't, the parents will get suspicious when they notice that their beloved children are missing."

"If we complete the mission before Parent's Night then it won't matter will it?" Peaches asked smugly.

"I already told you that Seto Kaiba is not to be taken lightly!" the voice roared, causing Peaches to tremble. "Kaiba is resourceful, intelligent, and dangerous. It will take a bit of time to wear him down, but if he sees his own students falling at our hands he will be more easily persuaded. However, I can not risk him being un-persuaded before Parent's Night."

Peaches growled, "Fine, what's our next move?"

"I gave you a list," the voice responded, "why don't you read it?" Then the connection went dead.

Peaches shoved the phone into his pocket and took out the 'list,' and read it over before vanishing in the shadow of the tree.


	30. Stone Cold

Sdrive: Sorry guys, I've been on a kind of down low recently. I had other things that were pretty important. Plus even after all this time I'm not even done with chapter 33 yet. I'm doing the best I can with the time I have available to me and the strength I have to sit down and stare at a computer screen for hours, but it's all taking a toll on me. Let's not forget the fact that if my computer cord isn't kept at a certain angle, it won't give my computer power, and without constant power, my computer dies in 7 minutes. I think my battery is shot and I think I need a new one, but perhaps I'll get that from Santa this year. I wish…

Oh, and for those of you who have asked, when making Satoshi's name, it was something random that had come out in the library at school. I didn't realize it was Ash's Japanese name till afterwards, oh well. Maybe one day I'll build him a pokemon deck lol j/k.

* * *

Everyone had gathered in the arena and the seats were still packed with students and faculty sitting in to watch the duels. The announcer was putting out an important announcement at that moment.

"…_for those of you who are just coming in, this next round of competition will bring the final duelists into the final rounds of the contest. After this, the four remaining duelists will face off against each other until only one stands."_

"This is the semifinals?" Kokuro asked. "I've only been in two duels so far."

"There were a lot of drop outs," Yaku noted. "One of the kids I met with said that since you and Sonomi, plus Kazuki were in the tournament there was no reason to compete."

"That sucks," Kokuro said annoyed.

"What do you mean?" Sonomi asked him. "That means that we actually finish at a reasonable time tonight, unlike the last couple I've been in."

"But it's not as much fun if you only face a couple duelists," Kokuro replied. "A tournament is supposed to be big, supposed to be long."

"Ever been to a local card shop tournament?" Kahou asked coming up behind them. Kokuro nodded, "There ya go," Kahou finished.

Kokuro shrugged, "Whatever, I suppose I'll just go along with it. So let's see, that leaves Kazuki, Kahou, Sonomi, Satoshi, and me," Kokuro said knocking off the names on his fingers. "That leaves two more duelists then," he let out a sigh. "Fine, I suppose I'll just get on with it then." He walked off down towards his designated arena leaving the others behind.

"What do you think his problem is?" Sonomi asked.

"He told me once that all he's ever competed in are small tournaments," Mia said. "With the exception of a regional tournament once or twice if I remember correctly. I think he was kind of hoping this one would have a bigger outcome."

"Well, we might as well go follow him for now," Kahou said as he walked off.

"Where did you disappear to anyway?" Sonomi asked him.

"There was someone I wanted to say hi to real quickly at the restaurant," he said not turning back as he continued. The others just shrugged and followed.

* * *

"_In one corner, we have the wrestling teams best, holder of three consecutive titles, Satoshi Hiburoshi," _the announcer called out. _"And coming up into the arena now, is the schools wonder freshman, master of magic, Kokuro Samé," _the announcer cried just as eagerly.

Kokuro rolled his eyes as the audience cheered and he got into the arnea, "is this a boxing tournament or a Duel Monsters tournament?" he asked.

"I'm the wrestling team's captain," Satoshi smirked. "The school has contests against the other schools, just like a regular high school, and I've won each year I've been here."

Kokuro kind of clapped, "well congratulations, I'm so happy for you," he said sarcastically.

"I'd watch yourself Samé, you don't have your girlfriend backing you up this time."

"She's not my girlfriend," Kokuro said annoyed at the joke.

"Yes she is!" Mia called happily waving to him.

Kokuro spun around and saw the huge mischievous smile that had come across Mia's face as she waved, "what are you doing?" he cried out.

"Just saying it like it is!" she said waving. Suddenly she felt someone pulling on her skirt and pushing her into her chair. She looked up at Sonomi who was glaring down at her, looking very upset; waving meekly she said, "Hi Sonomi."

Kokuro turned around with a sweat drop on his forehead and took out his deck shuffling, "well, it's time to do this," he said when he was finished and inserted his deck causing the Duel Disk to fold out.

"I agree, the sooner this ends the sooner I get onto the finals," Satoshi said putting in his own deck. "Prepare to face the wrath of Obelisk Blue you first year drop out."

"Drop out? Excuse me!" Kokuro said getting upset. "No one calls _me _a drop out!"

"You are and I'll prove it," he said drawing his hand, "I'm going first," Satoshi said drawing. His face contorted into a mix between sheer happiness and vile wickedness, 'This is great,' he thought looking at his hand. 'I'll toy with him for now, like I always do with my one on one opponent's, then bring home the victory.'

'He seems happy with his opening hand,' Kokuro thought looking at his own. 'Not that mine's anything to scoff at.'

"I'll start by setting one monster on guard," Satoshi said as the face down card appeared. "And then my turn is done."

Kokuro drew his card and smiled, "First off I think I'll summon Breaker, the Magical Warrior," he called out as his red robed magician with the shield and sword appeared on the field. (1900/1000) "Breaker, attack his monster," Kokuro announced as Breaker went running towards the face down cards which revealed themselves to be Moai Interceptor Cannons. (1100/2000) The Easter Island Heads shot blasts of energy at Breaker sending him flying backwards onto the ground. (7900)

"Pathetic," Satoshi said as Breaker stood up.

"I've got nothing else," Kokuro said grumbling.

"Good," Satoshi said drawing his card and adding it to his hand. "In that case, I set one monster on guard," he said as another facedown monster appeared. "Then I'll use Moai's ability to put itself face down. The cannons used the hidden gears to lower themselves into the ground as the remains vanished and turned into their card form. "You're move loser," Satoshi said grinning.

Kokuro pulled the next card from his deck and added it to his hand. "Come to the field Blast Magician," Kokuro said playing the card and the second red robed mage, holding a large scythe, appeared on the field. (1400/1700) "Blast Magician, attack his face down monster!" Blast Magician ran forward with its scythe ready to do battle when a huge rock monster made of thick rock and a mine on its head appeared on the field and knocked the magician away. (7400)

"Oh this is too much," Satoshi said laughing. "First my cannons and now Mine Golem (1000/1900). I must say, you're not on top of your game today."

"That's one person's opinion," Kokuro growled. "Go."

"Feisty too," Satoshi said grinning as he drew his card. "I'll set this card under the table," he announced as the face down card appeared on the field. "Now I sacrifice my cannons for Guardian Sphinx!" he announced as a huge stone sphinx appeared on the field. (1700/2400) "Guardian Sphinx, wipe out Blast Magician! Curse of the Sphinx!" The sphinx roared loudly causing Blast Magician to drop his scythe and shatter.

Kokuro had to cover his ears as the roar went on to affect him as well. (7100) "Takes more than that to beat me," he said.

"Then allow me to put my Sphinx on guard," he said as he took the card and switched it face down on guard. The sphinx growled as it vanished and its card form appeared.

"How did you do that?" Kokuro asked.

"It's my sphinx's ability," Satoshi said matter of fact like, "now it's your move."

Kokuro drew his card and looked down at it, 'hmm, Chaos Command Magician huh?' he thought to himself. He then looked over the other cards in his hand, 'Buster Blader, Fusion, Premature Burial, Sage's Stone and Apprentice Magician eh? I could summon Buster Blader if I want using Premature, but if that thing has another effect, and I think it does, then Chaos Command Magician might be the better choice…only problem is I don't remember how much Defense it has.' Kokuro looked over at Satoshi's field. 'Well, if this doesn't work, live and learn.'

'The brats smiling,' Satoshi thought. 'Why?'

"First I'll activate Breaker's ability, this allows me to remove the counter it comes into play with so that I can destroy one spell or trap on your side of the field, and seeing as how you only have one, I guess that will be the one I destroy!" Breaker's sword began to glow as his attack power decreased. (1600/1000)

"Since you plan on destroying it, I might as well activate it, Minefield Eruption!"

"I remember that card from when he used it on me," Sonomi said to the group.

"Just what does it do?" Kahou asked.

"If he tributes that Mine Golem he can deal 1000 points of damage to Kokuro," Yaku explained.

"Hang tough Kokuro," Kahou thought.

"Go, Minefield Eruption!" Satoshi called out as Mine Golem self destructed and the explosion blew over Kokuro. (6100) Breaker continued forth and slashed the card, even though its effect was over anyway. "That's what I would expect from an Osiris Red."

"A wrestler who's color blind," Kokuro said taking Chaos Command Magician from his hand, "There's something you don't see everyday. I'm guessing the fake blood looks yellow then?"

"Just continue your move," Satoshi said rolling his eyes.

"Very well, I offer Breaker to summon Chaos Command Magician," he watched as his green robed magician appeared on the field and twirled its long green staff, the ruby in the middle of the topper glimmered in the artificial lighting. (2400/1900)

"You go boy!" Mia said pumping her fist in the air. "Now that thing won't be able to use its ability next turn." Kokuro kind of turned and looked at her before giving her a weak smile and thumbs up.

"He has absolutely no idea what it does huh?" Yaku asked.

"Probably not," Sonomi replied dryly.

"Now go Chaos Command Magician, attack!" the magician leapt up and released a ruby colored blast of magic at the sphinx that reappeared on the field. The sphinx swatted it away as if it were nothing.

"My monsters defense is equal to your monsters attack," Satoshi said plainly.

"So it is," Kokuro said nodding. "I end my turn."

Satoshi drew his card and smirked, "I summon Monk Fighter," he said as the white haired monk appeared on the field, and took a fighting stance. (1300/1000) "Now it's time to activate a card I know you're familiar with, Kaminote Blow," the spell appeared on the field and Kokuro let out a gasp. "I see you don't need an explanation. Now I'll put my Sphinx in attack mode," he said as the sphinx rose up.

"He's in real trouble," Sonomi noted.

"Monk Fighter, attack Chaos Command Magician," the monk charged forward and began punching the magician in the gut repeatedly. Before the magician fell he cast a spell blowing the monk to pieces. "I don't take any damage due to my Monk Fighter's ability, and your monster is destroyed due to my Kaminote Blow."

"He's open for a direct attack!" Mia exclaimed.

"Guardian Sphinx, attack this drop out with Curse of the Sphinx!" Satoshi cried out. The sphinx began to glow an eerie purple as did Kokuro causing him to scream out in pain. (4400)

"Kokuro!" his friends called out.

"I'm just about done with you," Satoshi smirked, "but I have one final monster to summon to the field, one that can only be summoned by sacrificing a monster with Sphinx in its name; and my Guardian Sphinx fits the bill," he said as the sphinx vanished. Suddenly a large golden monster, one that resembled Exodia the Forbidden one, came onto the field, its large looming figure startled all watching the field, it knelt on guard and its stats were shown. (0/4000) "Meet the Divine Protector Exordo!" Satoshi cried out laughing.

"Umm…Sonomi," Mia asked nervously.

"Yeah?" Sonomi replied just as nervous.

"What is that thing?" she cried out.

"I…don't know."

"I hope you like huge monsters," Satoshi said once he had stopped laughing, "because they don't like you. My move is over."

Kokuro just stared up at the large thing, 'alright, nothing to get too worried about, it has no attack power after all, it can't do too much damage to me.' Kokuro drew his card, and looked at it, he put it in his hand and took another, "I set one monster on guard," he said as he set the card and it appeared on the field. "My turn is over," he stated.

Satoshi drew his card and set it on his disk, "one monster on guard and that does it for me."

"Then it's my turn," Kokuro said drawing. 'I don't really need to set this right now, but if he summons something stronger I could probably use it,' he slid the card into his disk. "I set one card under the table and my turn is done."

Satoshi drew his card and smirked, "finally the fun begins," he said taking his monster and putting it in attack mode, "I flip my on guard Golem Sentry into attack mode," he said as a rock monster that looked like a mini gate appeared on the field holding a spear. (800/1800) "This activates both Golem Sentry's ability and Exordo's, you see, whenever one of my monsters is flip summoned, Exordo takes away 1000 of your Life Points."

"No way!" Kokuro gasped as the huge creature created a ball of energy between its two hands which it proceeded to throw at Kokuro once it was finished. The blast hit Kokuro knocking him backwards. (3400)

"Now, as for Golem Sentry's ability, it can return one monster on your side of the field to your hand," the golem threw its spear at the face down monster causing it to vanish. Kokuro took it off his disk once he had stood up. "Golem Sentry, attack that fool!" The golem was about to take its spear back and throw it again when black chains captured it and stopped its movement.

"I'm done taking damage, my Shadow Spell will hold you at bay," Kokuro said breathing a little hard."

"Not for long," Satoshi said as his monster vanished and its card formed appeared where it was standing. The chains, no longer holding anything, shattered, "Golem Sentry can put itself facedown on guard once per turn; and now that it has done so I'll set one other monster on guard and end my turn."

"Kokuro's in a really rough spot," Kahou pointed out. "He hasn't touched Satoshi yet, and if that weren't bad enough, he can't really do anything about that Golem Sentry."

"He'll pull through," Sonomi whispered. "I know he will."

Kokuro pulled his card and played it immediately, "Pot of Greed," he said drawing the top two cards on his deck. "I summon Spear Dragon," he announced as the blue and white dragon appeared on the field. (1900/0) "Spear Dragon, wipe out Golem Sentry!" he announced. "Cyclone Blast!" The dragon opened its beak and a vortex of wind came from it that blasted into the golem that appeared destroying it as a small remainder went on to hit Satoshi.

"Wow, your first damage all duel," Satoshi mocked. (7900) "And one full hundred to boot! Have you been getting better on me?" he asked with a scolding finger. He then burst out laughing, "I told you, you won't be able to beat me without Sonomi, give it up already."

"Guys like you only wish I would give up," Kokuro said taking a card from his hand, "Unfortunately for guys like you, I would rather watch my Life Points drop to zero before I ever give up. I set one card under the table after Spear Dragon goes on guard." The tiny dragon folded its wings in front of itself and then a facedown card appeared behind it.

Satoshi drew his card and immediately flipped his face down monster, "Moai Interceptor Cannons, this will of course allow Exordo to damage your Life Points. The giant Egyptian monster began to form a ball of energy in its hands when Kokuro called out.

"Reverse Pikeru's Circle of Enchantment," he announced as the white rune circle appeared underneath his feet. The Exodia look alike flung the ball of energy at Kokuro but couldn't penetrate past the rune circle. "Sorry but it looks like you're not all your cracked up to be."

"And neither is your dragon," Satoshi smirked. "Cannons, destroy it!" The mouths opened up to reveal the cannons hidden within. One round of bullets later the Spear Dragon was blown to pieces and Kokuro had to cover himself from the wind that had kicked up. "My cannon's self defense system activates and then it's your turn." The cannons hid themselves and their face down card appeared where they had stood.

Kokuro slowly growled as he drew his card, and smirked when he did so, "You remember my Black Magician don't you?" Kokuro asked turning the card around to show Satoshi.

"What about it?" Satoshi asked. "It's a seven star monster, you can't summon it."

"Good thing I'm not summoning him then huh?" Kokuro said smirking.

"Then why bother to show me?" Satoshi yelled annoyed.

"I was just asking if you remembered him is all," Kokuro said shrugging.

"Just make your move!" Satoshi shouted angrily.

"Sheesh, no patience," Kokuro said taking two other cards from his hand, "Then again, I'm not really one to talk." He turned the other two cards around which were revealed to be Fusion and Buster Blader.

"No!" Satoshi gasped.

Kokuro slid the Fusion card into his disk and then slid Black Magician and Buster Blader into the graveyard, "I don't summon him often, but when I do he's almost unrivaled," Kokuro said grinning as Black Magician and Buster Blader appeared on the field just as a vortex did. The two entered the vortex and out jumped a Spellcaster with a long sword like staff. He wore dark green armor outlined in gold, and he stared down at Satoshi and his Exordo. (2900/2400) "He's Black Paladin!"

"Oh yeah!" Mia said excited.

"Show that creep what dueling is all about," Sonomi smiled.

"First off, my Black Paladin gains 500 attack points for every Dragon in either graveyard or on the field, and if I remember correctly, you just sent my Spear Dragon to the graveyard, that gives Black Paladin 500 extra points. (3100/2400)

Satoshi began chuckling calmly to himself, "what was I afraid of? That thing doesn't come close to wiping out Exordo."

"Perhaps not, but it's more than enough to wipe out your cannons," Kokuro said pointing to Satoshi's face down monster. "Black Paladin, destroy the Moai Interceptor Cannons!" The sword-wielding Spellcaster gathered a ball of energy into its staff before releasing it in a ray of white light that turned the cannons that appeared into rubble. "It's your move," Kokuro said staring at Satoshi.

"And a waste of a turn I had to put up with to get to it," Satoshi growled drawing.

"You think summoning one of my strongest Magicians was a waste of a turn?" Kokuro asked calmly.

"It was, especially since your monster still can't defeat Exordo," Satoshi smirked.

"We'll soon see, won't we?" Kokuro asked smirking.

"I suppose we will," Satoshi smirked back. "Until that time comes, I'm setting one monster on guard and that will end my turn."

"My move," Kokoru said drawing, and what he drew made him smirk, "Well, you say that my Black Paladin won't be able to take out your Exordo?"

"Unless you drew some attack boosting card," Satoshi said folding his arms.

"Well you're right, my Black Paladin won't be able to beat your Exordo, but there's another who can."

"Then lets see him," Satoshi smirked, not believing what Kokuro was saying.

"You're lucky," Kokuro said, "you're going to be the first to face this new Black Magician in action."

"Oh?" Satoshi asked with a slightly raised eyebrow. "And why would that be?"

"Because I put him in especially for this tournament," Kokuro replied. "You see I had a feeling that I would need some extra firepower in my deck, so I added this Black Magician to give me that firepower."

"Enough already!" Satoshi said. "Play your monster or shut up."

Kokuro smirked, "Very well," he said as he took another card from his hand, "I activate Premature Burial," he announced as his Life Points decreased. (2600) "Now I bring back my Black Magician!" Kokuro announced as his purple robed magician appeared on the field with his arms crossed. (2500/2100) "Now the stage is set, and I can activate this, _**Knight's Title**!_"

"Knight's Title?" Mia asked, "What's that?"

"I don't know," Sonomi admitted, also curious.

"Knight's Title can only be activated when Black Magician is on the field," Kokuro explained to Satoshi, "and now my Black Magician will evolve," he took Black Magician and slid it into his graveyard causing the Black Magician on the field to begin to glow. "With this I can now summon _**Black Magician Knight**!_" he announced. The glowing ceased and the person that stood there was the Black Magician, but he looked radically different. His majestic robes had now been transformed into brilliant purple armor. He wore a black cape and instead of his usual staff, he wielded a glowing sword. (2500/2100)

"That thing doesn't have a single extra attack point!" Satoshi exclaimed.

"True," Kokuro said smirking, "But how quickly we forget, that a monster summoned by a Spell Card must have a powerful special ability."

"He's awesome," Mia said with glimmering eyes, "Special Ability or no. I wish Kokuro would play him more often."

"Sounds like someone has a crush on a certain Duel Monster Card," Sonomi said nudging Mia.

"He just looks really cool," Mia said turning red.

"Now for my Knight's ability," Kokuro said, "when he's summoned successfully, he can wipe out any card on the field."

"No way!" Satoshi gasped.

"And guess what his target is," Kokuro said pointing at Exordo.

"You can't!" Satoshi yelled.

"I just did," Kokuro smirked. The Black Magician Knight jumped up and, with his glowing sword, slashed a large opening into Exordo, causing the mighty Exodia counterpart to fall to the ground shattering. The knight returned to Kokuro's side of the field, his blade no longer glowing.

"My most powerful monster," Satoshi said almost stuttering. "Wiped out by a simple warrior."

"Not so simple now is he?" Kokuro asked. "Black Magician Knight, wipe out his face down monster! Using your Noble Sword Slash!" The Knight brought its sword down onto a Mine Golem that exploded and covered Kokuro in smoke. (2100)

"Didn't expect that did you?" Satoshi smirked. Suddenly Black Paladin came from out of the smoke and slashed Satoshi across the chest pushing him back causing him to fall onto the ground, and hard. (4500)

"Didn't expect _that _did ya?" Kokuro asked once the smoke cleared. "My turn is over."

"Fine," Satoshi said once he had stood up. "I activate Graceful Charity!" he announced sliding the card into his disk. The card appeared on the field and began to glow.

"I don't think so," Kokuro said, "My Black Paladin comes with a handy Magic Jammer ability. I just have to discard one card from my hand, and your spell card is negated and destroyed." He took White Magician Pikeru and slid it into the graveyard causing Black Paladin's sword to glow. He released a blast of magic that shattered Satoshi's Graceful Charity card.

"I set a monster on guard," Satoshi grumbled waving his hand.

"About time," Kokuro said drawing his card. "I summon Fire Princess," he said as the red robed, silver haired girl appeared on the field with her brown staff in hand. (1300/1500) "Black Paladin, attack his face down monster!" The Paladin gathered energy in its sword once more and released a blast of energy destroying the large statue monster that appeared.

"That was my Lost Guardian," he growled. "Its defense is determined by the number of rock monsters removed from play."

"And currently there are none," Kokuro smirked. "Oh well, Fire Princess and Black Magician Knight, attack!" The Princess gathered a ball of fire which she flung at Satoshi, turning into a steady stream that hit him head on. Then Black Magician Knight brought its own sword down onto Satoshi, causing him to fall to his knees. (700) "Make your last move," he said.

"I doubt this will be my last move," Satoshi said drawing. "I set one monster on guard and put one under the table, go."

Kokuro drew and immediately began his Battle Phase, "Fire Princess attack!" The princess twirled her staff and released a stream of fire from it.

"You've revealed my Monk Fighter, with allows me to then activate Lone Wolf!" Satoshi said. The Monk Fighter got hit by the fire but remained on the field.

"It's your move," Kokuro said a little disappointed.

Satoshi drew his card, he was sweating by this point and breathing heavy, "I…won't let you defeat me. I set one monster on guard," his face down monster appeared on the field.

"By doing that you destroy your Lone Wolf trap," Kokuro pointed out as the trap shattered.

"I know that, go!"

"Geeze, try to be helpful and look what you get," Kokuro said drawing. "Fire Princess, attack the new face down monster!" Fire Princess charged forward, her staff flaming, and brought it down on the face down card. A Stone Statue of the Aztecs appeared on the field, causing her to look back in shock. She jumped back, upset.

"Since you attacked my Stone Statue, you take double the Life Points," Satoshi said grinning. (700) "I knew you'd do that, so I knew how to plan."

"But now I can destroy both your monsters," Kokuro said. The Black Paladin sliced the Stone Statue in half while Black Magician Knight destroyed Monk Fighter. "I hope you have a back up plan," Kokuro said crossing his arms.

"I do," Satoshi said drawing. "I set a monster on guard and go."

"If you really think I'm going to make the same mistake twice, you're sadly mistaken," Kokuro said drawing. "Black Paladin, attack the face down monster!" The paladin brought its sword across a Gear Golem the Moving Fortress (800/2200) and destroyed it. "Black Magician Knight, wipe him out!" Kokuro called out. The Magician turned Warrior leapt into the air and brought its sword down onto Satoshi sending him to the ground. (0)

The Black Magician Knight returned to Kokuro's side of the field before all of the holograms vanished, leaving Satoshi to sit up sweating, 'he beat me,' he thought gritting his teeth. 'That loser beat me.' "How do you get so lucky?" Satoshi shouted at him.

Kokuro, who had begun exiting the arena, turned to look back at him and shrugged, "it was a tough duel; I just had a better hand. Plus I thought ahead and prepared my deck for hard challenges, just like the one Exordo gave me."

"You shouldn't have been able to defeat me," Satoshi growled.

"And why is that?" Kokuro asked.

"Because I'm better than you," he replied angrily.

"Maybe you are," Kokuro shrugged, "but you can't change the fact I've beaten you twice now." He walked off leaving Satoshi speechless.

Kokuro got to his group of friends and Sonomi stood there smirking at him, "nice exit line," she said.

"It was true though," Kokuro replied, "and that's a fact that he just cannot deny."

"_And with the conclusion of that duel, we will move into the finals, the line up will be, Sonomi Hinote against Kazuki Ishihaka, and Kokuro Samé against Kahou Taimu," _The announcer declared over the loud speaker_. "There will be a 15 minute break before the beginning of the next round."_

"I'm…facing Kazuki?" Sonomi asked nervously.

"And I'm facing Kahou," Kokuro said giving him a high five.

"This is awesome," Kahou said to him, "it sucks that they're making us wait an entire 15 minutes!"

"Doesn't it though?" Kokuro asked.

"Both pairs of duelists will be put on opposite sides of the arena so that they won't have to be interrupted by the other's duels," Yaku explained.

"So, that means that since Mia watched Sonomi's last duel, she gets to watch mine next," Kokuro said happily.

"She just did watch you," Kahou said.

"I know," Kokuro said smiling, "But so did Sonomi, so I need…hey, where did Sonomi go anyway?" They looked around and they finally noticed that Sonomi was no longer with them.

* * *

Sonomi walked out of the building and began going down the rock path that led to the academy. At one point she veered away from the main path and found her way walking towards a set of benches. All the benches were occupied except for one that only had one student, an Osiris Red. Sonomi approached her and looked down, "Care if I sit down?"

The girl's head, covered by her red cap, looked up only briefly before looking down, "sure," she said quietly.

Sonomi sat down and let out a sigh, 'this really sucks,' she thought to herself. 'I was really hoping to avoid Kazuki until the end of this year.'

After a few more seconds the girl next her asked, "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Sonomi replied dryly.

"Oh, because you were sighing a lot," she said still quiet.

"Was I?" Sonomi asked; unaware of how many times she had sighed.

"Yeah," the girl responded.

"I guess I'm just worried about my next duel. I'm in the Duel Tournament Project," Sonomi explained. "And I have to duel Kazuki."

"That's a rough break," the girl replied.

"I wasn't prepared to duel him yet," Sonomi said looking up at the sky. "Part of me knows I'm good enough to beat him, the other part doubts every skill I have."

"I don't know what to say," the girl replied, "I'm not really the one to talk to when it comes to dueling expertise."

"Its fine," Sonomi said realizing that she talking out loud. The other girls watch beeped and she looked down at it and gasped.

"I have to get going, my break is over," she stood up and bowed, "I hope your confident side overcomes your doubtfulness." The girl then ran off as Sonomi looked down at her fleeting form.

"I do too," Sonomi said sighing again. She sat for another couple of minutes before heading off back towards the arena building.


	31. Legendary Duel!

Sdrive: Well, here we go, another chapter. By the way, it may have taken almost three months, but chapter 33 is written ehehe….I'm gonna die huh?

On another note, don't forget to check out my new AMV! It's up on Youtube, just search for Bakura In The End.

* * *

Sonomi re-entered the building with only a couple minutes to spare before the beginning of the next duel, Kokuro rushed over to her as soon as he spotted her, "Where were you?" Kokuro almost shouted. "I was really worried you'd get booted from the duel if you didn't show up."

"There's nothing to worry about," Sonomi said quietly, "I'm fine."

Kokuro gave her a look over, he knew she was lying and he told her so. "You're not fine, something's bothering you."

"No, I'm fine, I promise," she said taking out her deck and shuffling it.

"If you say so," Kokuro said watching her shuffle. He watched her for another few seconds before he finally spoke again, "You're worried about Kazuki," he said simply.

The words pierced right through her, causing her to drop her cards all over the ground. She and Kokuro gasped and they immediately bent down to begin picking them up, they worked for a few seconds until they had collected them. Out of the corner of their eyes there was one final card, their hands both went for it, unaware of each other, and both got to it causing Kokuro's hand to fall on top of Sonomi's. They're faces flushed and Kokuro took his hand off as she picked up the final card, Kuriboh. They stood up and Kokuro put the rest of her cards the top of the pile she had collected. He then put his hands on hers.

"You'll do fine," he said looking into her eyes, "just have faith."

"You're right," she said nodding. They both stood there, hearts racing, and faces still a little red.

Kokuro couldn't stop looking into her eyes, and he noticed something he never had before. He noticed that her eyes were a really light hazel color, if they were a bit darker they would look gold; it was something he had never noticed before. "Well, I suppose we should get going," he finally said shaking the thought out of his head.

"Yeah," Sonomi said nodding.

All the while, Kokuro's heart was racing. He lost control of himself and in an instant, he found himself giving her a quick kiss on cheek. He pulled back and turned away, face fully flushed, 'what the hell?' he thought. He took the quickest deep breath he could and turned around, "For luck," he said as fast as he could, and then turned around and ran out towards the arena.

'What the hell was that?' Kokuro asked himself. 'I must be out of my mind.' His heart was running faster than his feet were, 'Sonomi's just a friend, that's all! …Then again, maybe she did need it, she looked really depressed. Then again, how'd I ever come up with the courage to do that? Ooooh man I can't believe I just did that. She's going to be so pissed off when I see her again!'

* * *

Back where Sonomi was, she simply stood there stunned. She put her hand up to her cheek and was at a loss for words. The events that had just occurred only seconds ago were playing through her mind. She shook her head, but the headache that was forming due to her stress and the shock just now wasn't receding. She felt a presence walk up behind her and turned around to see Kazuki standing there.

"Are you alright?" he asked. "You don't look too hot."

'He had to use the word _hot_,' Sonomi thought dismayed. "I'm fine," she lied. "I just have a really bad headache.

"If this is an excuse to get out of our duel…" he began but Sonomi cut him off.

"No! I just really do have a headache," she said trying to calm herself.

Kazuki's dark blue eyes darted around the room before he reached into his jacket pocket and tossed Sonomi a bottle. She caught it and looked at the description, "headache medicine?" she asked.

He nodded, "I don't like people knowing I carry it around; they'll get the wrong idea. Truth is I just get really terrible migraines at times and it helps to carry those around."

Sonomi nodded understandingly and she opened the bottle pouring two out, she took one and swallowed and was about to take the second when Kazuki stopped her, "one will be plenty. Those are powerful."

Sonomi, shrugging, placed the second one back in and capped the bottle handing it back to him. "Thanks," she said.

"You'll start to feel better by the time we get to the arena," he said as he walked along. "Just take deep breaths, and whatever's bothering you, remind yourself that you can always set it aside for later." Sonomi did as she was instructed and began following him, "don't forget to keep taking deep breaths," he said as they were walking.

Sonomi kept taking deep breaths and after a few seconds her headache began to subside. She started focusing a lot more clearly about the problems she was having, 'Kokuro is a good friend,' she thought to herself. 'All he meant by…it…was a friendly "feel better and good luck." I guess all in all I'm really lucky to have such a good friend,' she was able to force a small smile onto her face as they continued walking to the Arena.

Once they were there, Kazuki went all the way to the other end and turned around to look at Sonomi. "Feeling better?" he asked smirking.

"Yeah," she said smirking and pulling her deck out. "And I'm fully ready to take you on now, backed with the faith I have in my friends," she said determined.

Kazuki let out a small chuckle, "I'm glad to hear it," he said as he took out his own deck and began shuffling. He watched her begin shuffling and couldn't help but give off another small chuckle, 'works every time,' he thought to himself.

"What's so funny?" Sonomi asked him.

"I'm just glad you're feeling better," he said inserting his deck causing his Duel Disk to fold out.

"I am," she said smirking, copying his move, "those headache pills really work fast," she said.

All Kazuki did was grin as he waited for the announcement, "_Let the finals begin!" _the announcer shouted.

"Game on!" Sonomi said pulling her first five cards.

"You have first turn honors," Kazuki said.

"Don't mind if I do," she said pulling another card. She looked over her hand and grimaced, 'Not the best opening hand ever, but I can work with it.' "First off I'll activate Dark Room of Nightmare," she said as she slid the card into her Duel Disk and the Spell Card appeared on the field. "Now I'll set three cards under the table," she said sliding all the cards in and watching the brown backs of her cards appear on the field. "Finally one monster on guard!" she announced as the last card appeared. "Your move."

"An interesting opening play indeed," Kazuki said drawing his card. 'It seems as though my little 'pill,' helped her get over whatever was bothering her. That's good, I want her at her best. I've waited a long time for this duel and I'm not going to let anything stop her from fighting her best.' He looked at the card he drew and added it to his hand, taking another, "I activate Descent of White Dragon," he said as he slid the card into his Duel Disk. "With this I can…"

"With that you've activated my trap!" Sonomi announced as her Magic Drain trap lifted. "Now you have to discard a spell from your hand or else your Ritual can't be played." A vampire appeared on the field and went towards Kazuki.

"Fine, I'll discard Soul Exchange," Kazuki said turning the card around. The Vampire took it and drained the energy out of it until it turned to dust. Satisfied, the vampire vanished allowing Kazuki to continue with his turn. "Now, I discard Sonic Bird from my hand to allow me to bring out Knight of White Dragon!" He discarded the card and a decent sized white dragon with large, sapphire eyes appeared on the field with a knight in bright white armor mounted on it. (1900/1200)

"I'm not scared of your dragon," Sonomi said smirking.

'With two other set cards, I don't blame her,' Kazuki thought to himself. 'She wants me to attack, but she's going to be disappointed.' He took the second to last card in his hand and slid it into his Duel Disk. "I'll set one card under the table and end my turn."

Sonomi's eyebrow rose slightly but she shrugged it off and drew her card, "You're going to find that to be a big mistake Kazuki," she said as she added the card to her hand and took another, "I sacrifice my face down Ultimate Baseball Kid to summon Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch!" A tall figure in shining red armor appeared on the field in a blaze of flames. (2400/1000) "Thestalos' ability allows me to force you to randomly discard a card from your hand and if it's a monster, you'll lose 100 Life Points times the number of stars it has, but since you only have one, it's the only one I can take."

Thestalos formed a ball of fire in his hand which he flung at Kazuki's card which was burned to ash. "You destroyed my Brain Jacker," Kazuki said simply as his Life Points fell slightly. (7800) "It only had two stars so I only lost two hundred Life Points."

"That may be true," Sonomi said, still smirking, "but you forgot about my Dark Room of Nightmare, which will now hit you for another 300 points of damage." The card began to glow a dark purple, as did Kazuki. He looked as though he felt a bit of pressure, but otherwise remained expressionless. (7500) "And I'm not done with you yet, my Thestalos will now wipe out your Dragon. Attack with Fire Ball Pummel!" she announced.

The Royal monster created fireballs in both of its hands and shot them out at the dragon, doing this repeatedly. Every blast hit its target destroying the dragon after a screech from the dragon and a scream from its rider. (7000) "I'm really impressed," Kazuki said. "Then again, I wouldn't expect anything less from our schools Legend."

"Sorry if this sounds a bit harsh, but I actually expected more from you," Sonomi said.

"How do you mean?" Kazuki asked, waiting to see if he should be insulted or not.

"I know how tough of a duelist you are, and I'll admit that at first I was pretty scared, but you're handless, and you only have one card face down that you didn't activate. Plus your only monster is gone, I truly expected something more."

"I don't choose the way the cards fall," Kazuki said calmly. "But I wouldn't worry about it too much if I were you. You do have the advantage after all, so let's see where it takes you."

"Well, I have nothing more this turn, it's your move."

"Very well," Kazuki said drawing his card interested. 'If my down card works the way I want it too, this could be quite helpful,' he thought to himself. "I'm activating my face down Sixth Sense," he said as the trap lifted. "Now I choose two numbers and roll a die, if I get one of the two numbers, that's how many cards I get to draw, if not they get discarded. Naturally I'll choose five and six."

A die appeared on the field and flung itself up into the air before landing and bouncing a couple of times until if finally ceased on three. "Looks like you're Sixth Sense isn't as good as you thought it was," Sonomi chuckled at her own joke. "Better luck next time."

"Actually, I would have been fine no matter what the result was," Kazuki said smirking.

"What!" Sonomi gasped.

Kazuki took the top three cards off his deck and looked at them, Senju of the Thousand Hands, Relinquished, and Black Luster Ritual. "Perfect," he said as he slid the cards into his graveyard. "I have more than one way to summon a Ritual Monster," Kazuki said as he slid the only card in his hand into his Duel Disk, "and in this case it's by playing Fulfillment of the Contract."

'This could be bad if he discarded a powerful Ritual Monster,' Sonomi thought preparing for the worst.

"I pay 800 Life Points in order to summon Relinquished from the Graveyard!" he announced. (6200) A large, floating blue monster appeared on the field. It had some kind of strange wings on its shoulders and two arms that ended with long sharp claws. Instead of having legs it had a cone with the point facing the ground. Its center had a big circular opening that seemed to go inside of it. Lastly it had a small mask on it and a large stalk with a golden eye at the end of it. (0/0)

"A monster with zero attack points?" Sonomi asked almost relieved. Then a thought struck her, 'oh crap. Monster's with zero attack points usually have devastating effects, and I'm sure that if Kazuki chose this thing over his White Dragon, it must be a pretty good one.'

"You of all people should know that attack power isn't everything," Kazuki said with his arms crossed. "Now I will use Relinquished's power of assimilation." Sonomi watched in horror as the center of Relinquished expanded and began sucking air into it. Her Thestalos was also pulled in and the Relinquished closed its circular appendage. It glowed for a brief moment before the two 'wings' folded over it creating a shield, and Thestalos stuck inside of the shield. (2400/1000)

"What happened?" Sonomi demanded.

"Relinquished has the unique ability to take one of your monsters and equip them to itself, and when it does so it gains the attack and defense of the monster it has taken," he explained to her.

A growl escaped from Sonomi, "fine," she said.

"Relinquished, attack with Pilfered Power!" Kazuki commanded. The eye began to glow it absorbed energy from Thestalos, preparing to fire the energy it had gathered.

"Reverse Gravity Bind," Sonomi called out as her trap reversed and the net of energy appeared over the field.

"Won't work," Kazuki grinned as the energy fired and blasted into Sonomi. (5600)

She cried out in pain as she fell to the ground gasping for breath, she hadn't been prepared for the attack to actually work. "So, it's safe from traps," Sonomi gasped.

"Actually, it's a one star monster, that's why Gravity Bind couldn't stop it."

'Then I _could _have activated my other down card,' Sonomi cursed to herself.

"My turn is done," Kazuki said as he waited for Sonomi's next move.

"Fine," she said standing up and drawing. "I'll set a monster on guard and end," she said placing the card onto the disk and watched it appear.

Kazuki drew his card and glanced down at it for a moment; "Relinquished, attack!" he called out. The monster took more energy from Thestalos and fired it at the face down monster. A monster with one eye that looked like it was some kind of creature made up of multiple things appeared before being destroyed. (2000/0)

"That was my Gaia Soul," Sonomi said annoyed.

"Perhaps you'll have better luck this next round," Kazuki said waving his hand to her.

She drew her card and looked down at it, 'Damn. It's not a monster. Luckily I still have my down card.' "I set one card under the table and I end my turn."

Kazuki pulled his card and he looked at it intently for a moment, 'So, I've drawn it,' he thought to himself. 'If I pull the Ritual Monster, I'll be able to use it,' he said adding the card to his hand. "Relinquished, strike her down!" The Spellcaster stole even more power from the captive Pyro monster and shot it right at Sonomi.

"Reverse Dimension Wall!" she announced as her previous trap lifted. A vortex appeared on the field absorbing the attack. Another vortex appeared behind Kazuki and the energy emerged from it striking him in the back, actually causing him to lose his balance. (3800) "Looks like this time it was me who used your monster to cause damage," she smirked.

He stood up looking a tad annoyed, "It's your move," he said.

Sonomi drew and a smile came across her face, "I'll set one monster on guard and call it a turn."

"Fine then," Kazuki said drawing. 'I don't need my Masked Beast right now,' he thought putting it in his hand. "Relinquished attack!" The same sequence of events passed by, but this time it struck a turtle with a saucer on its shell.

"You attacked my UFO Turtle (1400/1200) which will allow me to search my deck for another," she explained as another UFO Turtle appeared. "And while I'm at it, I'll activate Ceasefire! This trap causes you 500 points of damage for each effect monster on the field, so that's 1000 points!"

A ray of energy shot out from her trap card and struck him in the chest, causing him to have to press his feet to the ground. (2800) Then her Dark Room spell activated causing him to glow purple under the pressure as he lost another 300. (2500) "My turn is over," he said taking a deep breath.

"Good," she said drawing her card and glancing at it. "I'll place this monster on guard and switch UFO Turtle on guard as well, it's your move."

Kazuki drew his card and played it instantly, "Card of Sanctity will force us to draw until we're holding six cards each," he said as he pulled three cards from his deck. Sonomi nodded drawing five. "Now, I activate Soul Exchange," he said as he played the card, "and so that it won't go to waste, I'll also be activating Curse of the Masked Beast, and doing so I'll offer up your UFO Turtle and discarding Senju, I'll summon up Masked Beast!" The large four legged creature with the long brown staff and masks all over its body appeared on the field roaring viciously. (3200/1800)

'Crap, now what?' Sonomi thought to herself looking up at the huge creature. Her eye dropped to a card in her hand and she began to smirk.

"Since I activated Soul Exchange, I can't attack this turn, so I'll turn it over to you," he said. "She's really good, but her poker face just flew the coop. She has something planned.'

Sonomi drew her card and added it to her hand, "Time to make you regret summoning another monster," she said as she threw a card over at Kazuki. Instantly his two monsters vanished and he caught the card that was flung at him.

"I should have guessed," he said placing the Lava Golem onto his Duel Disk. The steel cage formed around him as the huge monster appeared on the field behind him, instantly intensifying the temperature around him. "However since you summoned Lava Golem, you can't summon again."

"Doesn't matter," she replied grinning. "My Golem's side effect, combined with my Gravity Bind and Dark Room should be more than enough to stop you. However on the off chance you do manage to pull something you need, I'll set these two cards under the table and end my turn," she said as the two cards appeared in front of her.

"It would appear that being around Kokuro has done wonders for your courage," Kazuki said after her cards appeared.

'Kokuro,' she thought, the reminder of the kiss instantly striking her again. She shook her head and glared at him, "and what is that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

"You've been avoiding me Sonomi," Kazuki replied. "I'm sure you've been worried about your rank. The last time I lost a duel was when I was in Osiris Red, before you knew me. Ever since then my winning streak has been perfect, and same as yours. Because of this, you've feared facing me, you've always tried to avoid me."

"Yeah right," she lied arrogantly.

"Deny it in front of the audience sure, but don't deny it in your heart!" he said, rather sharply. "You're so afraid of losing that you keep a distance from anyone that might be a threat to your reputation. This tournament is finally the way to force you to face me," he said crossing his arms. "You have no choice but to face me now, because if you don't the audience will think badly of you."

"That's not true!" she shouted. "I never back down from a challenge, no matter how tough it may be."

"One can never back down from a challenge and also not make a challenge all at the same time," he said. Sonomi thought for a second about what he had said, and realized what he was saying was true. "However, no matter how afraid you might be of me, you're not letting it affect your dueling. You have played almost flawlessly, the only mistake was with Relinquished, then again, I didn't summon him through his ritual so you had no way of knowing his level, unless you've studied up on him."

Sonomi wasn't sure if this was supposed to be a compliment or not, but the more she thought about it the more she remembered what had brought the whole thing up. "What does any of this have to do with Kokuro?" she asked.

"Kokuro, as I have seen of him so far, has not-only never turned back from a challenge, but he's gone the extra mile but to find challenges."

"What do you mean?" Sonomi asked.

"I heard about his duel against Notosa after the training video, also he challenged me to a duel after the quarterly exams. If he has reason to, he'll duel anyone, no matter what he may know about them. I think his courage has rubbed off on you," he said smiling. "Even if it's only a little."

'What does he mean, "even if it's only a little?"' she asked herself. 'Then again, Kokuro did give me the confidence boost I needed to challenge Mia…'

"All I'm saying is that I'm glad that you're finally dueling me," he said. 'Even if you do lack the one thing I need for a truly remarkable duel,' he thought privately. "My move," he called out drawing his card. He looked down and smirked when he saw the card, but not for long as the Lava Golem oozed scolding hot lava onto him and then the aura from the Dark Room brought him to his knees. (1200) "I activate Pot of Greed," he said drawing his two cards. Upon drawing the second he heard a screeching sound, and when he looked down at it, he couldn't help but smile. "I activate the Ritual Spell, Royal Harpie Ritual!" he announced showing the card to her.

"Royal Harpie Ritual?" Sonomi asked. "I've never heard of it."

"In order to activate this card, I have to offer up a monster with seven stars or more, and then I can summon the appropriate Ritual Monster from my hand, so say good bye to Lava Golem," he said as the large beast vanished to satisfy the spell's need. "Now, the Royal Ritual has been completed, so I can summon up this, Harpie Queen!" he announced as he placed the card onto his disk.

Instantly the queen of the Harpie Ladies appeared before Sonomi. She had on a golden crown with a red jewel in the center. She was the tallest of all the Harpie Lady's and she had long sharp claws that looked like they could dissect an elephant with ease. At her side was a whip and she had battle armor on, much like Cyber Harpies, but hers was royal red. Her hair was long and golden, she was undoubtedly the most beautiful of all the Harpie Ladies. (2100/1500)

"Harpie Queen!" Sonomi announced. "I didn't know there was such a card," she said stunned.

"There wasn't, until about two years ago," Kazuki said. "And there are only two in existence."

"Only two in existence!" she gasped.

"Yes," he said nodding, "the same goes for its ritual."

"I bet Elda would kill for that card," Sonomi mused.

"She doesn't have to, because she already owns it."

"Elda has the second!"

"Of course," he smirked. "In fact, she _created _the card; with a bit of help from me I might add."

"I had no idea," Sonomi said stunned. She shook her head calmly and then looked at it, "Too bad it couldn't be of any use other than getting rid of Lava Golem."

"That's where you're wrong," he said sliding a card into his Duel Disk. "I activate Heavy Storm!" A large hurricane erupted from the center of the field and wiped out the net of energy along with Sonomi's other three cards. The wind died down slightly until only a small bit of wind remained, the Harpie Queen flew over to it and absorbed it, causing her to glow a bright golden. (2400/1800)

"What just happened?" Sonomi asked.

"Although they are classified as Winged-Beasts, Harpie Lady's know a bit of magic too. Take Harpy Lady 1, she's good with wind magic, so she can raise the attack power of all Wind monsters. And Elegant Egotist is a spell also cast by the Harpie Lady's," he explained. "Harpie Queen is the strongest when it comes to magic using. Whenever a spell card is played, she absorbs a small portion of its power to strengthen herself, and by strengthen I mean she gains 300 attack and defense points."

"No way," Sonomi gasped.

"She also has another effect, but since I don't use Harpie's that effect doesn't matter," he said. "What does is the attack I'm making, Harpie Queen, destroy her face down monster!" The Harpie took its whip from its side and swung it at the face down monster. Gaia Soul appeared and the whip instantly wrapped around it. The queen pulled the whip towards her and flew down to meet the Gaia Soul approaching her; with one swipe of the queen's talons Sonomi's monster was destroyed. "My turn is done," he said crossing his arms.

'Oh man, this could cause a problem,' Sonomi thought looking at her deck. 'I really have to hope for a miracle here,' she drew her card. 'This will buy me some time,' she thought looking at the Thing in the Crater. "I place a monster on guard and end my turn."

Kazuki drew his card and looked at it briefly, "I'll set this under the table," he said as his card appeared facedown. "Now Harpie Queen, wipe out her face down monster!" The queen attacked in the same manner that she had earlier, and destroyed Sonomi's hidden monster.

"You've activated Thing's ability allowing me to special summon Flame Ruler on guard," she said as the muscular, blue haired ruler appeared on the field crouching down. (1500/1600)

"You're move," he said.

'If I ever needed…' she reached for her deck and pulled her card looking at it, 'that's it!' she thought excited. "I sacrifice Flame Ruler to summon Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys!" she announced as her flaming phoenix appeared on the field letting out a loud screech, getting quite the uproar from the audience. (2400/1600) "Our monster's attack points are equal," she said smirking as her phoenix floated behind her. "The only way to stop it is to suicide your own monster, so I'll leave the decision up to you."

Kazuki drew his card and looked at it, "Sorry Sonomi, but there are other ways to kill a mockingbird," he said sliding a card into his Duel Disk. "I activate the continuous spell Samsara," he said as a blue and gold box sitting on a red draped table with candles around it appeared on the field. "If I end up having to use it I'll explain what it does, but for now I've only activated it to give power to Harpie Queen." The box began to glow a slight gold, as did Harpie Queen. (2700/2100)

A quiet, "No," was all Sonomi could muster.

"Harpie Queen, wipe out Sacred Phoenix!" he announced. The queen tangled the phoenix in her whip and then dove after it slashing the flaming bird across the chest destroying it.

Sonomi stared in horror as her Life Points fell slightly. (5300) "I…don't believe it."

"All that hard work and planning, all to be undone in a single turn," Kazuki said quietly. "I know it's hard to watch so I'll end my turn from there."

Sonomi drew her card, Raging Flame Sprite, 'This won't help me against that,' she thought looking at it. She placed it in her hand and took another monster, "I'll set one monster on guard, go."

"Very well," he said drawing his card. "I set one card under the table," he said setting it on the field. "Harpie Queen, attack!" The Queen's whip caught a Balloon Lizard this time and her talons slashed it in half blowing it to pieces. "You're move."

Sonomi drew her card, a bit of sweat going down the side of her face, "I set one card under the table," she said setting the card she had just pulled. "And one monster on guard," the two cards she placed both appeared on the field. "It's your turn," she said, aggravation present in her voice. Kazuki drew his card and then announced the activation of his newest trap card at the same time Sonomi did, "I activate Curse of Darkness," she called out as her trap lifted.

"And I activate Compulsory Evacuation Device which will send whatever monster you have on the field right back to your hand," he said as he watched the card shoot away from the field and right back into Sonomi's hand.

"But that means I'm defenseless!" she gasped.

"Exactly," he said as the Harpie Queen swooped down and slashed Sonomi with her talons. She cried out in pain as her Life Points fell drastically. (2700) "Next I will activate my face down Sebek's Blessings," he said as an alligator type monster in white robes and a staff appeared on the field. "It may take 1000 points to play this due to your trap card, but now I can gain the attack points that you just lost." Sonomi's trap shot a surge of Electricity at him, pushing him back a bit, and then the alligator raised its staff causing Kazuki to glow. (2800)

'It may only be by a hundred, but now he's ahead in Life Points,' Sonomi despaired.

The alligator turned over to Harpie Queen and raised his staff slightly, engulfing her in a soft green glow before vanishing. (3000/2400) "Now that Harpie Queen is stronger, my turn is over."

Sonomi drew her card and looked down at it, "I set a monster on guard and end my turn," she said, obviously running out of options.

Kazuki drew his card and looked down at it, "It was an honor to finally duel you," he began, "but I'm afraid it's over. I activate Black Magic Ritual," he said as the card appeared on the field and the red hexagram appeared on the ground. He got struck by lightning from Sonomi's trap card but it no longer seemed to affect him. (1800) "By offering my Reshef from my hand, I can activate Samsara as well." Reshef the Dark Being appeared on the field on top of the hexagram. The hexagram began to glow and Reshef vanished into nothing more than an orb of light. The orb flew towards the Samsara box, which opened and absorbed the orb. "Samsara allows me to return any monsters offered for a tribute to my deck," he explained taking Reshef and shuffling it back into his deck. "However it hardly matters now," he said as the hexagram began to spin as the two candles that had appeared with it began to light up and flare towards the sky.

From the sky, the Magician of Black Chaos, adorned in the same robes as the Black Magician of Chaos, (2800/2600) came down with a dark blue aura surrounding it. It landed on the hexagram, causing it to vanish, but not before Harpie Queen's talons glowed red for a split second. (3300/2700) "Magician of Black Chaos, attack her guarding monster!" he called out. "Chaos Scepter Blast!" The magician twirled the staff in its hand, in turn causing it to gain power. It slammed the staff on the ground sending a ball of electrical magic over at Sonomi's monster.

A Chinese general wielding a long sword and a dark red outfit riding a purple horse appeared on the field. (1500/1600) It was struck by the magical blast being blown to pieces in the process.

Fear welled up in Sonomi's eyes, 'no, it can't be.'

"Harpie Queen, attack the player!" The queen once more swooped down upon Sonomi, slashing her right across the chest with her horribly sharp talons. Sonomi screamed in pain as her Life Points plummeted. (0) As soon as the holograms vanished Sonomi fell to her knees, using her hands for support as she stared down at the ground. Kazuki cleared up his cards and looked over at her, "It was an honor to finally duel you," he said.

He waited for a response but he knew he wasn't going to receive one, he could tell by the look in her eyes. "I hope, when you tell him, he goes easy on you," he said before turning around and began exiting the arena. 'I would like to comfort her, but I know there's no point right now,' he thought to himself as he exited.

"Wait!" Sonomi's voice came.

Kazuki, shocked, turned around to look and saw that Sonomi was standing there, looking at him with tears streaming down her red face, but she also almost looked relieved. "It…it was an honor to duel you too," she finally said.

Kazuki couldn't help but smile, "Everything will be alright," he said looking at her. "You've become much stronger. There's nothing he can do to you now. You're better than him, and you have your friends to back you up."

Sonomi nodded, "when did you find out?" she asked.

"Elda and I exchange e-mails quite often. She's kept up to date on those sorts of things," he said.

"Please don't tell the others," she said wiping the tears away. "I want to be the one to tell them, when I'm ready."

"You had better hurry, mid-terms are coming up, once they are over, you're time will have practically run out."

"I'll find a way," she said.

"I'm sure you will," he said turning around.

"Hey Kazuki, could I have another of those headache pills? I've got another one coming."

"I'm afraid they won't work for you any longer," he said.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Didn't you notice anything strange about the first one?" he asked.

She thought for a second, "other than the very sweet taste?" she asked.

Although his back was to her, she could almost swear he was smiling, "it was a sugar tablet," he explained. "A placebo. They aren't really headache pills, sorry." He walked off leaving Sonomi stunned.

'You mean…' she began thinking, but her brain had already reached the conclusion and it was just a matter of accepting it, 'oh that just sucks!'

She sighed and then looked down at the other side of the arena, 'Well, I suppose I might as well go see how he's doing,' she thought to herself as she walked off down the arena.


	32. Time Magic

Sdrive: A couple notes. First off, I've changed some of the rulings I originally made towards Kahou's Time Cards, to make them less broken. Time Magician now has to remove Past, Present, and Future, and he also has to activate his summoning power during main phase 1, before Kahou can attack. There are slight other changes, but these changes are final and I will not change them again. Next up, this duel was excessively hard to write but not the reason this chapter was so late. No, the reason is more or less I was too busy writing other chapters for this story and then I got side tracked working on my Pokémon fic. That's right, I'm doing a Pokémon fic. It's a fic I've had planned for a while based on a Pokémon Movie idea I've had for a while but didn't want the main characters in lol. Anyway, hope you all enjoy.

* * *

'What am I going to do?' Kokuro asked himself as he slowed down. 'I have no idea if she's upset or not. Oh man, I still can't believe I did that. Maybe if I just explain to her that…that I couldn't control myself? Oh yeah right, like that's going to make the situation any less awkward,' he thought to himself rolling his eyes. He looked down at the ground. There were thoughts running through his head, thoughts that he knew were there but weren't mentally thinking yet.

'_She's going to think I'm hitting on her, and that's going to jeopardize our whole friendship. I never wanted that to happen! I should have never done it, I should have had more control over myself! I'm going to have to face the music when I see her again, and tell her that all I want is her friendship, nothing more. Crap, what if she thinks it was more than what it was, and wants to go somewhere with it? No, she's Sonomi, she'll understand. But what if she doesn't, what if she truly wants it to mean more than it did…I'll have to explain it to her. I'll have to just explain that it was an accident, and that I didn't mean anything by it other than friendship.'_

He finally registered the fact that someone was holding onto him from behind, their arms wrapped lovingly around his waist. He turned around to look right into Mia's worried blue eyes, "You're just standing here looking at the ground, what's wrong?"

"I…I'm having a hard time right now," Kokuro said. "It's nothing."

"If you're having a hard time how can you say it's nothing?" she asked him.

'…I don't want to tell her,' Kokuro thought to himself. '…but I have no choice.' He looked her in the eyes, "I kissed Sonomi," he said quietly.

"I knew it!" Mia said smiling happily. She saw his eyes dart down to the ground going red and knew that it wasn't the time to joke around, "Isn't that a good thing?" she asked him.

"I didn't mean to do it," he quietly said. "I don't know how I even did it."

"Where did you kiss her?" Mia asked.

"On the cheek," he said.

Mia's smile returned slightly, "I bet I know why you did it," she said softly.

"Why?" he asked.

"You were worried for Sonomi, about having to face Kazuki," Mia said. "You wanted to comfort her some way, but you probably couldn't think of any other way, so you acted on instinct. I think it's sweet."

"You really think so?" Kokuro asked.

"I do," she said. "And now I want to comfort you, since you're so upset." Before Kokuro could register what she meant, Mia gave him a quick kiss on his cheek, "It's perfectly natural to want to comfort the ones you care about when they feel depressed," Mia said smiling. "So don't worry about it."

Kokuro was a little flushed but he suddenly felt calmer, "You're right," he said taking a deep breath and ending it in a long sigh. "Thanks."

"Anything for you," she said squeezing him tightly.

"Enough," he said gasping for breath. She let go and smiled at him, "Looks like someone's back to normal."

"I'll feel much better once I talk to Sonomi," he admitted.

"I'm sure you will, but now you can at least concentrate on your duel right?" she asked him hopefully.

He nodded, "Yeah, I should be able to."

"Good," she said smiling. "Because you have to hurry, you have 30 more seconds before you'll be disqualified."

"What!" he said stunned.

Mia just laughed at him, "You better hurry!" Kokuro spun around and took off as Mia giggled softly to herself and ran to catch up with him. Twenty seconds later Kokuro had just made it in time, as the announcer cried out.

"_Let the finals begin!"_

"I was beginning to think you wouldn't make it," Kahou said shuffling his deck.

"I almost didn't" Kokuro said taking out his deck and began shuffling fast, "but thanks to Mia I was able to make it just in time." He looked over and saw Mia standing there smiling at him and flashing her peace sign.

'Mia's right,' he thought. 'I kissed Sonomi to comfort her, just like Mia kissed me to comfort me. I'm sure Sonomi will understand when I talk to her, but for now, I have to keep my mind on facing Kahou.' Simultaneously they slid their decks in their Duel Disks which unfolded and they shouted out, "Let's duel!"

"First turn honors go to the one wearing yellow," Kahou said drawing his five. He instantly became distracted by something, and almost didn't hear Kokuro.

"If you insist," Kokuro said drawing his sixth card. He grimaced when he first saw his hand but realized he could make good use with it. 'I'm so glad I added this card yesterday,' he thought looking at his trap card. 'I can tell this is going to be a permanent addition to my deck.' He took three cards from his hand and slid two into his Duel Disk, "I set two cards under the table, and then I'll set one monster on guard," he said putting the last card onto the Duel Disk. The brown backed cards appeared and he nodded at Kahou. "Let's see your move 'what's your name,'" he chuckled.

"I'll give you a name to remember," Kahou chuckled drawing. "I activate the spell Future," he said sliding the card into his own Duel Disk. The card with the background of a city in the sky filled with flying cars appeared on the field. "This card allows me to bring one monster with Time in its name from my deck to my hand," he said as he searched his deck and picked a card showing it to Kokuro. "I choose Time Warrior."

'I remember he used that card against Elda, but I don't remember what it did,' Kokuro thought to himself.

Kahou finished shuffling his deck and slid it into his Duel Disk, "Now I'll summon my Time Warrior," he said placing the monster onto the disk. A monster in armor appeared on the field wielding a long sword. (1500/1300) "Time Warrior, strike down Kokuro's hidden monster!" The warrior ran forward and slashed at the face down card; suddenly the Old Vindictive Magician appeared on the field and blasted a beam of magic at Time Warrior destroying it before shatering. "Time Warrior is protected from Spells and Traps that directly target it, but the same can't be said for monster effects," Kahou said a little upset.

"That's the way life goes," Kokuro said sliding the Old Vindictive Magician into his graveyard.

"Guess so," Kahou said taking another card from his hand and sliding it into his Duel Disk, "So I'll activate Past," he said as his spell card appeared on the field. "This allows me to bring back Time Warrior and put him into my hand," he explained as Time Warrior slid out of his graveyard slot and he took; adding it to his hand. "My turn is over."

Kokuro pulled his card and looked down at Cybernetic Magician, 'Can't use it just yet,' he thought adding it into his hand next to his Buster Blader. He took another card from his hand and placed it onto the disk, "I summon White Magician Pikeru," he said as the pink haired, white robed magician appeared on the field. (1200/0) "And now White Magician Pikeru will attack!" he announced as she began to gather energy in her small staff. "And because of that I can activate this card."

"What are you activating?" Kahou wondered.

"It's a trap known as Magician's Circle," he called out as the trap reversed itself. Instantly a hexagram appeared on the field around them. "Because of this, we can now each summon a Spellcaster with 2000 attack or less from our decks in attack mode," Kokuro said grinning. "So I'll summon Black Magician Girl!" he announced as hexagram began to glow and spin as the Black Magician Girl rose up from it giving off a twirl and a wink. (2000/1700)

"Impressive," Kahou nodded. "But now you've allowed me to also summon a Spellcaster, so I'll summon Time Stopper!" The hexagram glowed once more and a man in a dark, blue cape appeared on the field. He had a scepter in his hand with a ruby colored orb as the topper. The orb had the picture of an alarm clock on it. He had long black hair and the rest of his robes were also black. (1900/1600) Time Stopper raised his staff and both Pikeru and Black Magician Girl were branded with a red glowing alarm clock and were stuck in place. "Since you allowed me to summon Time Stopper none of your monsters can attack.

'I didn't count on that,' Kokuro admitted to himself. "Fine, then I'll move onto my main phase two and I'll activate Sage's Stone!" he called out as the stone appeared on the field. It began to glow bright and Black Magician (2500/2100) appeared on the field; but he too was branded with the red clock causing him to freeze in place. 'I may not have been able to attack this round, but this duel is in the bag,' Kokuro thought to himself. "I end my turn."

"Then it's time for mine to begin," Kahou said drawing his card. "Now I bring Time Wizard to the field," he called out as the small monster appeared on the field, waving its staff. (500/400) Kahou smiled as the Time Wizard seemed to move closer towards him than any of the other monsters had. "Now I can call either heads or tails, and if I call it right my Time Wizard will destroy all monsters on your side of the field." He took a coin out of his pocket and flung it into the air, "Tails!" he called out. The coin flipped through the air until landing on tails. "Yes!" he cried happily.

"That's not good!" Mia cried out surprised.

'You're telling me,' Kokuro thought to himself. He watched as the Time Wizard's Roulette landed on one of the houses. It waved its wand causing a vortex to appear on the field and Black Magician, Black Magician Girl, and Pikeru got sucked up into the vortex before it vanished.

"Now that that's done, I'll activate the spell Reset!" he said as he slid the card into the disk. "If you remember this card allows me to pay 1000 Life Points so that I can roll a die. Any monster with Time in its name that has 1500 attack or less can attack the number of times the die rolls. However if it rolls a six the monster won't be able to attack at all. So Time Wizard lets see how good your luck keeps up." (7000) A die appeared in the air and flung itself onto the ground. It finally stopped on a two causing a small shrug from Kahou. "Not a whole lot but at least it gets a second attack, so go Time Wizard attack the player!"

The Time Wizard gathered an orb of white energy into its staff and fired it at Kokuro who braced himself for the attack. (7500) The minute and hour hands on Time Wizard went backwards a rotation and caused it to gather another energy ball into its staff which it fired at Kokuro again. (7000)

"Go Time Stopper, attack Kokuro!" The Time Spellcaster released blast of energy shaped like a red alarm clock. It slammed into Kokuro pushing him back a bit. (5100)

"Are you alright?" Mia asked worriedly.

"Never better," Kokuro grunted.

"That's it for this turn," Kahou said waving his hand.

Kokuro drew his card and smirked, "I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior," he announced as the sword wielding Spellcaster adorned in the red armor and cape appeared on the field, the orb on his sword glowing. (1900/1000) "Breaker, attack Time Wizard!" he announced. Breaker jumped in front of Time Wizard and slashed it in half, Kahou looked away. (5600) "Your move," Kokuro said.

Kahou drew his card and smirked, 'Time Warp, this will be great once I'm ready,' he thought adding it to his hand. "I set one monster on guard and end my turn," he announced as the brown backed card appeared.

Kokuro picked up his card and he smiled, at the same time Mia did. "I set one on guard," he said as his own brown backed card appeared on the field. "And then Breaker attacks the face down monster!"

Breaker jumped forward and brought his sword down onto a man in a red cape wearing a white shirt underneath it and an odd hat. The man threw a piece of paper at Kokuro's Duel Disk and once it landed chains shot out of nowhere wrapping around Kokuro's deck. "What is that?" Kokuro asked worried.

"Ever wonder who created the Time Seal card?" Kahou asked as the man vanished. "The Time Sealer (800/700) of course. When Time Sealer is flipped, you're not allowed to draw during your next draw phase," Kahou explained.

"I'm done," Kokuro said a little annoyed.

Kahou drew his card and grinned, "I activate Cursed Treasure," he said as the spell card appeared on the field. "If you remember, this allows me to draw three times as long as I discard three cards from my deck afterwards." He drew his three cards and then took the top three cards of his deck, Time Keeper, Time Adjuster, and Present, and slid them into the graveyard slot. 'Present is in the Graveyard, that should make things easier,' he thought grinning.

'He's happy that one of his cards is in the graveyard, but why?' Kokuro wondered.

"Now I summon Time Solider," Kahou announced as the monster with the silver armor and sword appeared on the field. (600/900) "And to make the full use of him, I activate Time Warp!" Kahou announced as the vortex appeared on the field and the Time Soldier vanished into it.

"It was a mistake to let me watch your duel with Yaku," Kokuro said grinning.

"Oh? And why is that?" Kahou inquired.

Kokuro's face down Mystical Space Typhoon reversed itself, "Because I was expecting that," he said as the magical swirling wind appeared on the field and disabled the vortex.

A small frown appeared on Kahou's face, "Well, I admit that's a bit of a disappointment Kokuro, but I'll still find a way to get by. Like using this," he said sliding a card into his Duel Disk as he watched the Time Scepter appear on his Time Stopper. (2200/1600) "Time Stopper, destroy Breaker!" Time Stopper fired multiple red clocks at Breaker destroying him. (4800) "My turn is over," Kahou said grinning.

Kokuro looked at the chains around his deck and sighed, "I can't make a move, so I pass."

"Poor Kokuro," Mia said sadly.

"Yeah that's a tough break," Yaku said coming up next to her.

"Where were you?" she asked.

"Lunch didn't settle so well," he said sheepishly.

"Oh," she said giving off a nervous little smile before turning around to face the duel again.

Kahou drew his card and sighed, 'Too late to use this now, Time Wizard is gone.' He looked to his side and grinned, 'well, not gone entirely.' "Time for a blast from the past, I summon Time Warrior," he said as the armor wearing Time Monster appeared on the field once more. (1500/1300) "Time Warrior, attack his face down monster!" Time Warrior brought his sword down upon the Hane Kuriboh that appeared before it blew to pieces.

"Darn that little Kuriboh," Kahou said annoyed.

"That little Kuriboh just saved me from a direct attack," Kokuro said.

"True," Kahou said.

Kokuro turned over to look at Mia and gave her a thumb up, Mia replied with her peace sign. "Anything else?" Kokuro asked looking back over at Kahou.

"Nope, it's your move."

Kokuro watched as the chains around his Duel Disk vanished and the seal ignited burning quickly. Relieved that the chains were gone he drew his card and smiled, "I activate Premature Burial," he said as his Life Points decreased. (4000) "And I'll bring back an old friend with it, say hello once more to Black Magician!" he called out as his purple robed magician appeared on the field looking down at Kahou. (2500/2100) "Black Magician, destroy Time Warrior and take an unhealthy chunk out of his Life Points!" The Black Magician began to power up his staff as Kahou called out.

"I use Time Warrior's special ability. If he's being attacked he can send himself through time until the end of the turn." Time Warrior slashed the air with his sword creating a slice in the time stream and jumped through it.

"Fine, I redirect my attack to Time Stopper," Kokuro said. "Black Magic Attack!" Black Magician pointed its staff at Time Stopper and released the dark green blast of energy. Time Stopper intercepted it with his Time Scepter which was blown to pieces. (1900/1600)

"Time Scepter decided to step in and take the hit for Time Stopper," Kahou smirked. (5300)

"My turn is over," Kokuro said as Time Warrior jumped out of the slice in time it had made which closed up immediately.

"Time Warrior returns just in time for me to begin my turn," Kahou said drawing his card. "I switch both Time Warrior and Time Stopper on guard," Kahou said as the two monsters crouched down and their respective cards appeared underneath them. "Then I summon Time Keeper in attack mode," Kahou said as a man in light blue robes appeared on the field, swinging a pocket watch as if it were a medallion. Kokuro could tell it had more pocket watches hidden within its robes. (1200/900) "That's my turn," Kahou said.

"Why did he summon that in attack mode?" Yaku asked looking at the newest Time Monster.

"I don't know," Mia said. "Perhaps he wants Kokuro to attack Time Keeper."

'I think Mia's right,' Kokuro thought to himself drawing his card. 'But it's a risk I'm going to have to make.' He glanced down at his Skilled White Magician and placed it on his Duel Disk, "Skilled White Magician in attack mode," he said as the white robbed magician appeared on the field holding its staff in its hand. (1700/1900) "Skilled White, destroy Time Stopper!" he announced as the magician shot a white beam of energy at the other Spellcaster destroying him. "Now Black Magician, destroy Time Keeper!" The Black Magician shot another stream of dark green energy this time at the Time Keeper. Right before it was struck it threw its pocket watch into Kahou's Duel Disk's graveyard slot. It was destroyed and Kahou's Life Points fell. (4100)

"When Time Keeper is destroyed I can take one spell card with Time in its name from my graveyard and put it into my hand," Kahou explained as the pocket watch turned into Time Scepter, which he showed to Kokuro before putting it in his hand.

"Looks like I can't do anything else this turn," he said.

Kahou nodded and drew his card, and a huge grin appeared on his face. "Sorry Kokuro, but this duel is as good as over."

"Oh? What makes you think that?" Kokuro asked.

"Because of what I'm about to do," he said watching as his Past, Present, and Future spells slid out of his Duel Disk. "I remove Past, Present, and Future from my graveyard in order to special summon the magician of Time Monsters, Time Magician!" A portal opened up from the sky and a man that was wearing the classic robes of the Magicians came down onto the field, however he was adorned with clocks on his robes instead of the stones for Spell Counters. His staff was a large scepter, also much like the Time Scepter. He had a large clock imprinted on the back of his cape. (2600/1900)

"It's that card," Kokuro said, a mix of amazement, and worried ness in his voice.

"You both respect him and fear him," Kahou said amused. "However if I were you, I'd be fearing him more."

"We'll see about that," Kokuro said smirking.

"Yes, we will," Kahou said, "for now I activate Time Magician's special ability."

"He's summoning that powerful monster," Mia said worriedly.

Yaku nodded, "Yeah," he agreed. 'But just what does it do?'

"Time Magician is the faithful servant of the true, Time Master!" Kahou called out as his Life Points decreased by half. (2050) A second portal opened up in the sky and from it descended a monster that looked a lot like the Time Wizard. Its whole body was not round like Time Wizard and it actually had a head covered by a robe. It was much taller but it was made out of gears just like the Time Wizard. It had a long black cape and its staff was gold. (2800/2200)

"Due to the side-effect of Time Magician, I have to end my turn immediately; but it was worth it to bring Time Master onto the field," Kahou explained.

"I'm sure it was," Kokuro said drawing his card. 'This could help,' he thought looking at it. 'Sorry Kahou, but whatever Time Master does, it won't be around long enough to do it.' He slid the card into his Duel Disk, "I set one card under the table," Kokuro said watching the card materialize. "Now Skilled White Magician, wipe out Time Warrior!" The magician fired a white beam of magic at the Time Warrior that made another slice through time and escaped. "Fine, I end my turn," Kokuro growled, having forgot Time Warrior's ability. The spellcaster returned to Kahou's side of the field as he drew his card.

"It's time to say good bye to your Black Magician Kokuro," Kahou said. "Time Master, attack!" Time Master began to gather energy in his staff but Kokuro called out.

"Reverse Shadow Spell," heavy black chains appeared from the ground and held the Time Master down. (2100/2200)

Kahou glanced over at Time Magician and smirked, "I end my turn."

'Why didn't he attack with Time Magician?" Kokuro thought drawing a card. 'There must be a reason, but I can't let that stop me.' "I'll set a monster on guard," he said placing a monster face down. "And then, Black Magician, attack his Time Master!" Black Magician released a dark green magic that hit Time Master destroying it. Kahou began chuckling as his Life Points fell. (4000) "You just lost your strongest monster, why are you happy?"

"Because you've allowed me to give him all his attack power back," Kahou smirked.

"Huh?" was all he could reply with.

"You see, whenever Time Master is destroyed, I can discard one card from my hand with 'Time,' in its name in order to bring Time Master back to the field," Kahou said smirking.

"No way," Kokuro said shocked.

"It's true," Kahou said, "oh by the way, have you looked at your hand recently?" he asked chuckling. Kokuro's eyes rose slightly and looked at his hand but didn't see anything different. "Look harder," Kahou helped.

Kokuro squinted at his hand before finally realizing that there was a small outline of a silver clock on each card in his hand, "what's the meaning of this?" he asked.

"It's the _other _ability of Time Magician," Kahou laughed. "As long as he's on the field, neither of us has to discard cards from our hand to activate the abilities of our cards.

"But that means!" Kokuro said frightened.

"That's right; Time Master comes back entirely for free!" Kahou exclaimed as a shining light exploded from his graveyard and when it finally died down, the Time Master was on the field again. (2800/2200)

"Now what?" Kokuro asked himself. It then dawned on him, "The reason you didn't destroy Black Magician was because you _wanted _me to destroy Time Master! You knew I wouldn't pass up the opportunity!"

"Exactly," Kahou smirked.

"Kokuro played right into Kahou's hands!" Mia said shocked.

'Kahou completely manipulated him,' Yaku thought, clenching his fists. It was just then that a small memory returned to him.

"_Don't be fooled by my rank as an Osiris Red student. My grades may be bad and I may only study other people's strategies but my dueling is no laughing matter."_

'That's right, he said studies other people's strategies,' he called out to Kahou, "You've been studying up on all of Kokuro's duels haven't you?" he asked.

Kahou smirked, "yup. I've been planning incase I've ever had to duel him. I've watched all his strategies, so I know exactly what to do at any time."

"But doesn't that give him an unfair advantage?" Mia asked.

"It makes him well prepared," Kokuro said. 'And leaves my Black Magician defenseless,' he thought looking over at his magician. "I end my turn," he finally sighed.

"Sorry Kokuro," Kahou said sympathetically. "But this _is _a duel after all," he drew his card. "I equip Time Master with Time Scepter," Kahou said as the familiar scepter appeared in Time Masters hand, one of the orbs on Skilled White began to glow. "Now I switch Time Warrior to attack mode." The monster stopped kneeling and raised his sword as the card underneath him shattered. "Now, Time Master, wipe out Black Magician!" Kahou yelled out. The Time Master raised his staff causing a clock to appear around Black Magician keeping it in place as if it were caught by Spellbinding Circle. The stronger spellcaster then shot a bundle of glowing numbers from its staff, bombarding the magician blowing him to pieces.

Kokuro had to shield himself from the few remaining numbers that hit him. (3400) "That wasn't pleasant," Kokuro muttered.

"Then this will be far less pleasant," Kahou called out, "Time Master, destroy Skilled White Magician!"

"What!" Kokuro gasped as his white magician was caught in a glowing clock and had a blast of numbers shot at him, blowing him to pieces. Kokuro was too stunned to be able to block the barrage of numbers that smashed into him; causing him to kneel on the ground. (2000)

"Kokuro!" Mia called out in surprise.

"Hang on!" Yaku shouted.

"I'm beginning to see why that thing requires so much to bring it out," Kokuro said standing up. "It's almost invincible, and can attack twice."

"Just imagine what it could do if I had Clockworks on the field!" Kahou grinned.

"I'd rather not," Kokuro grimaced.

"Time Magician, attack his on guard monster!" Kahou called out. The Time Magician raised his staff, and the outline of a silver clock appeared in front of him. It began to glow and then the hands on it began to spin rapidly, a blast of magic flew out from the clock taking out the hidden Blast Magician that appeared.

"Kokuro's defenseless!" Mia shouted worridly.

"Now I bet you're really glad you don't have to worry about Clockworks," Kahou smirked. "Time Warrior, direct attack!" The Warrior flew forward and brought his sword down onto Kokuro causing him to fall to the ground. (500)

"If Clockworks was on the field Kokuro would have lost!" Mia jumped up worriedly.

"I know it looks bad but you have to calm down Mia," Yaku said taking her hand gently and pulling her down into her seat.

"You're right," Mia said calming down. "I just wish Sonomi was here," she said watching the duel.

"It's been a good duel, but I believe it's coming to a close," Kahou said crossing his arms. "It's your move."

Kokuro drew his card and played it immediately, 'please be something good,' he thought as Pot of Greed appeared on the field. He drew his two cards and the pot shattered. He glanced down at them and smirked, "I remove White Magician Pikeru and Old Mage from play in order to special summon Chaos Sorcerer!" he announced as the purple skinned magician appeared on the field, his black cape flowing. (2300/2000) "Now I use his special ability to remove Time Master!"

The sorcerer waved his hands and a purple bubble appeared over Time Master. It tried to cast a spell but the bubble was vanishing too quickly and it didn't have the time it needed to complete it. The Time Scepter fell to the ground and shattered. "An impressive play," Kahou admitted, "but unfortunately for you, not good enough to win."

"Not true," Kokuro grinned, "since that was a special summon, I can offer up Chaos Sorcerer for Cybernetic Magician," Kokuro smirked turning the card around.

"Yeah!" Mia called out happily.

Kokuro took his Chaos Sorcerer and slid it into the graveyard, 'thank's' he thought to it. He placed his other card down and his futuristic magician appeared on the field, the silver trench coat shining in the light of the stadium. (2400/1000)

"Impressive," Kahou said looking at it. "But I don't see how it will help, it's still too weak."

"Even after I activate Mage Power?" Kokuro asked sliding it into his Duel Disk. Cybernetic Magician began to glow a bright golden as his attack power increased. (2900/1500)

"Now you can destroy my Time Magician!" Kahou gasped.

"Sure can, but seeing as how I don't have to discard any longer, I might as well make this even better," Kokuro grinned.

"What are you talking about?" Kahou asked. Instantly Cybernetic Magician raised its staff and shot a ball of silver energy at Time Magician. To Kahou's horror, Time Magician was instantly weakened. (2000/2200) "What just happened?"

"My Cybernetic Magician's special ability allows me to discard a card in order to turn one monster on the field into a 2000 attack point monster until the remainder of the turn, but since Time Magician is on the field, I got to do it for free," Kokuro said grinning.

"No way!" Kahou gasped.

"Cybernetic Magician, attack Time Magician!" Kokuro called out as a golden and silver blast was shot out of his magician's scepter striking Time Magician down as the rest of the attack hit Kahou in his chest.

Kahou was sent to the ground as his Life Points fell. (750) He slowly stood up, a little shaken, and glanced over at Kokuro, "that was certainly unexpected."

"I'm sure," Kokuro said, "Don't worry, my turn is done for now."

Kahou drew his card and sighed, "I'll set one monster on guard," he said as a facedown monster appeared on the field. "Then I'll switch Time Warrior on guard and that will end my turn." The warrior knelt down and his card appeared underneath him.

"My move then," Kokuro said drawing his card and looking at it. His focus kind of shifted as he stared at the card, causing Kahou to look at him strangely.

"Are you alright?" he called out to Kokuro.

Kokuro looked up and nodded, "Yeah," he said quietly. "I'm just…I don't know. I kind of feel strange," his gaze shifted down to the other side of the arena, but he couldn't see anything. He diverted his attention back to his own field and looked at the card in his hand again, 'I've never had the chance to use this card before. I kept it side decked, incase something like this ever happened.' He looked over at Kahou's side of the field. 'He has one face down monster and a monster I practically can't destroy. As long as he draws monsters he's safe, I can't touch him, but with this card, I can win. This very situational card,' he sighed as he slid the card into his Duel Disk causing it to appear facedown on the field.

'What's with him?' Kahou asked himself. 'He seems so out of it.'

Kokuro shook his head to clear his thoughts, 'It may be situational, but it will allow me to win.' He looked over at Kahou, "Since Time Magician is no longer on the field, I have to discard cards to activate Cybernetic Magician's ability," he said. Taking the last card in his hand, he slid it into his graveyard and continued, "I'm going to use his special ability to increase your Time Warrior by 500 points," he said.

Cybernetic Magician released another ball of energy, but this one seemed to make Time Warrior feel refreshed and energized. (2000/1300) "What's the point of that?" Kahou asked.

"You'll see," Kokuro said crossing his arms, "I end my turn."

"That was…weird," Kahou admitted as he watched his Time Warrior's stats change once more. (1500/1300) He drew his card and looked at it, "I summon Time Traveler," he announced as the man in the futuristic suite appeared. (1000/1000)

"Reverse Trap Card!" Kokuro announced. "Magical Explosion!"

"What?" Kahou gasped.

"Magical Explosion is a very situational trap card; its full power is reached when I have a lot of spell cards in the graveyard and only when I have no cards in my hand. This trap inflicts 200 points of damage for each spell card in my graveyard."

"You're kidding!" Kahou gasped.

"Way to go Kokuro!" Mia cheered.

Kokuro watched as his graveyard emitted a small light and brief, faint holograms of Pot of Greed, Premature Burial, Sages Stone, and Mystical Space Typhoon appeared behind him. An Old Vindictive Magician appeared on the field and raised its staff. The Old Mage's jewel in its staff glowed a dark green before firing right at Kahou. It struck him in the chest and he was sent to the ground as his Life Points were depleted. (0)

The holograms vanished and Kokuro took the card, and placed it in his Deck Box after he had chosen another card from his side deck to swap it with. He collected his cards and shuffled it together again before placing his deck back in the box. He walked over to help Kahou up. "Great duel," he said shaking Kahou's hand.

"Yeah really," Kahou said accepting it. "But why did you side deck that card just now?"

"I put it in thinking it would get more use," he responded. "That was the first time I could use it and if it weren't for Cybernetic Magician I still wouldn't have been able too. It was more or less a test run to see how good it would work. But knowing that I might just face Kazuki, I can't afford any mistakes.

"You might also be facing Sonomi," Mia said walking over to him.

"_That completes the final duel of this round,"_ the announcer called out. _"The final duel will be between Kokuro Samé and Kazuki Ishihaka."_

Kokuro, Mia, Kahou, and Yaku all gasped simultaneously, "But…that would mean…" Mia began.

'…That Sonomi…' Yaku thought to himself.

"…lost." Kokuro said quietly to himself.

"Oh man!" Kahou said surprised. "That's too bad."

"_The next duel will proceed in 15 minutes," _the announcer finished.

Kokuro turned around and began walking off in the opposite direction, "Sorry Kahou, but I have to go see how she's doing."

"Wait up," Kahou said following as Mia and Yaku rushed down to join them.

'Sonomi…' Kokuro thought to himself. 'I'm so sorry.'


	33. End Of The World

Sdrive: As long as he's in this story, I own Kaiba! Bwhahahaha…oh wait, I'm just borrowing him, damnit.

* * *

Kokuro had quickened his pace to get to the other side of the arena, but had stopped when he saw Sonomi half way walking in his direction. He slowed down and they both stopped in front of each other, both looking at the ground for a moment.

"I heard that you won," Sonomi said softly looking up at him. "Congratulations."

"How are you doing?" he asked looking at her. "I…I'm sure you feel devastated."

"I'll be fine," she replied. "It was good to finally get that stress off of me; I can look towards my future with clearer eyes now."

"I'm glad," he said smiling at her. His thoughts turned to the kiss and he suddenly felt himself go red. "Listen, what happened earlier…I want you to know that…"

"You did it to comfort me," she said looking at him with a small smile. "I appreciate it."

"So, you're fine with it?" Kokuro asked her.

She nodded, "I am. Thank you."

Kokuro couldn't help but smile; he moved closer to her and put his arms around her in a caring hug. She returned the hug; all the while Yaku and Kahou were looking at each other confused.

"Did we miss something?" Kahou asked.

"They had a problem," Mia explained. "But I think they're over it now."

The two let go and Sonomi nodded, "yeah, everything's all right."

Kokuro smiled and he turned to Mia, "you're not escaping this," he said grinning at her. She smiled and quickly ran in and joined them in a group hug.

"Why doesn't this happen to us?" Yaku asked looking over at Kahou.

Kahou shrugged, "that's ok; I'm fine with my own semi-relationship."

"Oh and who might that be with?" Yaku asked causing the others to look over towards them.

"Yes Kahou," Kokuro said grinning, "who's on your mind?"

'Damn it,' Kahou thought to himself. 'I've really messed up now.'

"Come to think of it, you never told me who that girl is you like," Kokuro said smirking. "I get it! You must have asked her out and she said yes."

"Well, it's something kind of like that," Kahou said rubbing the back of his head.

"Aww come on guys," Mia said going over to him. "He's obviously embarrassed. Let's not push it."

"When did you suddenly become so fond of protecting relationships?" Sonomi asked surprised.

"I only tease you two," she said laughing as Kokuro and Sonomi looked at each other before looking back at her.

"How sweet of you," Kokuro said slightly annoyed.

"Come on guys," Sonomi said walking towards the others, "we need to let Kokuro prepare himself mentally for his match."

"She's got a point," Kahou said. "He's about to face Kazuki, and he needs to be prepared."

"I'll be fine," Kokuro said smiling, "It is a game after all."

"Just be careful," Sonomi said, "he's strong, and you know that first hand."

"Thanks," he said as they left to go find seats close to the arena. Kokuro figured that the arena would probably be one of the ones he was at seeing as how it was in the middle of the stadium. He went into the closest one and decided to wait there.

'Here we go,' Kokuro thought to himself. 'This isn't going to be easy, but I have the skills to defeat him, I just have to do my best.' He felt his PDA vibrate and he reached in and looked down at it. He had one new message so he opened it.

_Do your absolute best._

_-Ami_

Kokuro glanced around the arena as quickly as he could but realized it would be futile to find out who sent the message. 'Whoever you are Ami, you can count on it.'

* * *

Up in the audience, the gang had sit down in the front row of the arena Kokuro was standing in. The sound of quick moving feet was heard and they looked to the side to see Katsu running up to them. Once she got there she caught her breath for a couple of moments before looking up at Sonomi, "You…Kazuki…lost…" She still didn't have a full grasp on her breath.

"I'm fine," Sonomi said looking over at her.

"Are you sure?" she asked her. "I know you told him you were, but you looked really down."

"I had another conflicting problem at the time that I was still working out. But don't worry, I'll be fine."

"I'm glad to hear it," Katsu smiled. She then noticed the others and gave a nervous smile, "um, hello."

"You remember Mia right?" Sonomi asked gesturing towards Mia.

"Yeah, I know her," she said looking to Mia.

"Well, the Obelisk is Yaku Narabi and the Osiris is Kahou…um…Kahou…"

"Taimu," Kahou said for her.

"Good to meet you all," Katsu said. "So, you're all here to watch Kokuro's duel?"

"Isn't that what you're here for?" Yaku asked.

"I came to make sure that Sonomi would be alright," she said looking at the other girl.

"I'm fine," Sonomi reassured her.

"Why don't you stay and watch Kokuro's duel with us?" Mia offered. "If you want, you can sit next to Sonomi," Mia said offering up her seat.

"Umm…ok," she said a little unsure. They switched places and Katsu sat down, "So that's Kokuro huh?" she asked.

Sonomi nodded, "He's one heck of a duelist, but let's see if he's good enough to take down Kazuki." A thought occurred to Sonomi, "Didn't you watch my duel against Kokuro?"

"Of course I did," she said. "But I paid more attention to you of course."

Sonomi smiled a little, "of course."

* * *

Kokuro stood there shuffling his deck, 'he's coming, I can feel it.' Sure enough Kazuki came walking down towards the arena and took his place on the opposite side of the arena.

"Well Kokuro, here we are," he said smiling at him.

"You better believe it," Kokuro said smiling back.

"Not scared are you?" Kazuki asked.

"Course not," Kokuro responded. "If you beat me, so be it, wouldn't be the first time."

"I'm glad to hear it."

"_Let the final match begin!" _The announcer called out.

The two slipped in their Duel Disks causing them to unfold. "Let's duel!" they shouted.

"If you don't mind I'll begin," Kazuki said drawing his card.

"Not a problem," Kokuro grinned. 'That just means I get the first chance to attack.'

"Good, then to begin I'll summon Sonic Bird," Kazuki announced as the brown bird with the jet pack appeared on the field. (1400/1000) "And as you know, its special ability lets me take a Ritual Spell from my deck and add it to my hand, so I think I'll take Contract with the Abyss." He pulled the card from his deck and showed it to Kokuro before shuffling. "Next I'll activate the magic of Samsara." As he said so a blue and gold box sitting on a red draped table with candles around it appeared on the field. "That will do it for me."

'No rituals on his first turn?' Kokuro thought almost worriedly. 'That's not like him.'

Up in the stands Sonomi was watching the duel intently, also worried, "What is he planning?" she said aloud.

"What do you mean?" Katsu asked.

"Kazuki always summons some kind of Ritual Monster on his first turn, but this time he didn't."

"Think about it," Yaku said looking over to them. "In order to play a Ritual Monster, he not only needs the right spell card but he has to have it in his hand. That's why he keeps Contract with the Abyss in his deck. It works for practically every Dark Ritual monster. Although he rarely ever uses it, it has saved him before when he's needed it."

"So then it's more of an issue that he doesn't have any that can be played right now," Sonomi concluded. "I never really thought about it before but I suppose even Kazuki can have a bad hand."

'Kazuki could have anything planned,' Kokuro was thinking pulling his top card. 'So I have to be more than careful, luckily his Sonic Bird is a weak monster so I should have no problems getting past it.' He pulled a card from his hand and placed it on the disk, "I summon Skilled White Magician," he announced as his white robed mage appeared on the field. (1700/1900) "Attack his Sonic Bird with Holy Light Ray!" The magician raised his staff and a ray of white light came from his staff directly towards Kazuki's monster destroying it. Ka:(7700)

"I expected nothing less from you," he said.

"That either means you're impressed or that I'm predictable," Kokuro said with a small grin. "I'll end this by activating Spell Absorption and setting one under." The spell card appeared on the field causing an orb on Skilled White to begin glowing as the other card appeared face down.

Kazuki drew his card and looked down at it, "A Pot of Greed should help," he said as he placed the card and drew twice. Kokuro began to glow with white light as did his magician that gained another counter. Ko:(8500) "Now it's time to summon a monster I believe you'll remember from our last duel, I activate Final Ritual of the Ancients."

"Oh great," Kokuro thought as his magician gained his last counter. Ko:(9000)

"To activate it, I must offer up monsters whose stars equal eight or more, so I think I'll drop Magician of Black Chaos which in turn activates Samsara's ability. Instead of going to the Graveyard, my Magician will be returned to my deck."

"No way!" Kokuro gasped as the Black Magician of Chaos appeared on the field momentarily before vanishing and having its soul placed into the Samsara box. Kazuki shuffled it back into his deck before placing his new monster on the field. A large fiend appeared on the field. It had stone armor, purple skin, and golden orbs that hovered in the air around it. (2500/1500) "Reshef, destroy his Skilled White Magician!"

"Not so fast Kazuki!" Kokuro announced as his trap card reversed. "My Shadow Spell will hold your giant monster in place and lower its attack points by 700." Black chains erupted from the ground and wrapped around the huge beast bringing it to the ground. (1800/1500) "Sorry Kazuki but I don't plan on letting that thing wipe me out like last time."

"Apparently not," Kazuki said smiling. "I have no choice but to end my turn."

"Then it's time I beat that thing," Kokuro said pulling the top card off his deck. "And to begin I'll summon Spear Dragon," he announced as his blue and white dragon appeared on the field. (1900/0) "Next up, it's time for Skilled White to grow in the world," he pointed at his magician as it began to glow white and grew into Buster Blader, (2600/23000) "I'm guessing a duelist of your skill already knows how I summoned Buster Blader."

"Of course," Kazuki said smirking.

"Good, then it's time to take the lead, Spear Dragon, wipe out Reshef with Vortex Blast attack!" The dragon released a swirling wind from its mouth that blew into the bound monster destroying it. Ka: (7600)

"This might hurt," Kazuki mused.

"Might?" Kokuro asked. "I'd try rethinking that hypothesis," Kokuro said smiling. "Buster Blader, attack the player!" The mighty warrior jumped into the air and brought his sword down onto Kazuki causing him to place his feet firmer on the ground. Ka: (5000)

"I'm impressed," Sonomi said smiling.

"Yeah," Mia nodded. "Now Kokuro's way ahead in the lead."

"No, not that," Sonomi said chuckling.

"Then what?" Mia asked.

"I'm impressed he knew what hypothesis meant," she replied smirking. "At least one of the less used definitions, meaning a mere assumption or guess."

A sweat drop appeared on Mia's forehead. "Either way, he's having the time of his life," she said happily watching the two.

"How was that for you?" Kokuro asked his opponent.

"It was well played," Kazuki admitted.

"I'll call it quits for this round," Kokuro announced.

"Then I'll pick it up where you left off," he said drawing. "It's time to show you the holiest monster in my deck."

"The holiest?" Kokuro asked.

"That's right. I got it from a girl who is very unique. She attends this school here and when I first met her, I knew she was special."

"And what is it about her that makes her so special?" Kokuro asked.

"I'm quite sure that in your travels you'll cross paths with her," Kazuki smiled. "Until then, I'll let you get a first hand glimpse of her power, I activate Shinato's Arc!"

"And just what does that do?" Kokuro asked as he began to glow. Ko: (9500)

"Well, if you would have noticed the Ritual Symbol on the card then I'm sure you could've guessed what it does."

"Good point," Kokuro said slightly annoyed.

"Now, I'll discard my Black Luster Soldier," he said showing the card to Kokuro.

'He's discarding his favorite monster for this card? It must be powerful,' Kokuro reasoned.

"Of course, Samsara will make sure that my Soldier's trip to the graveyard isn't one way," he smirked as the giant wooden Arc appeared on the field. Black Luster Soldier appeared on the helm before vanishing. The Arc broke apart and a glowing being began to rise out of it. He was a tall blue angel with three sets of large wings. He had a flowing purple cloak and a magnificent crown attached to his head. "Behold, Shinato, King of a Higher Plane. (3300/3000)

"3300 attack points!" Katsu said astounded. "It's as strong as my Masked Beast Des Guardius!"

"And it has a devastating ability," Yaku said looking at it.

"That thing is huge," Kokuro said before glancing at his Buster Blader.

"Shinato!" Kazuki began.

'Here it comes,' Kokuro thought to himself.

"Attack his Spear Dragon!"

"What!" Kokuro said stunned.

Shinato raised his hand and six purple orbs appeared on around it and began spinning rapidly forming a glowing purple ring. "Divine Ring attack!" Kazuki called out.

The ring spun itself over to Kokuro's dragon destroying it before going on to unexpectedly strike Kokuro in the chest. Ko: (7600) "Wha…what happened," Kokuro asked falling to his knees.

"Whenever Shinato destroys an on guard monster, that monsters original attack power is taken out of your Life Points," Kazuki said watching him.

"You…don't say," Kokuro said standing up.

"That's such a low blow!" Katsu yelled.

"Your Des Guardius leaves back a mask to take over an opposing monster's mind whenever it gets destroyed," Sonomi pointed out.

Katsu looked over at Sonomi who hadn't taken her eyes off the field. "I guess that's true," Katsu said quietly.

"How are you feeling Kokuro?" Kazuki asked.

"I've been better," Kokuro admitted. "But this is far from over."

Kazuki smiled, "Good, then I'll hand it over to you."

Kokuro looked up at Shinato. 'That attack felt so real. Kazuki said he got that thing from a unique girl, I wonder just how unique she is.' He pulled the top card off his deck and looked down at it. "I switch Buster…." Kokuro stopped. 'If I do that, Shinato will do even more damage to me than when it took out Spear Dragon.' Beads of sweat fell down his face before he took a deep breath, "Alright, scratch that idea."

'Looks like he realized his mistake before he made it,' Kazuki thought smirking in his head. 'I almost feel bad for him myself. However it looks like "the project" has taught him to think about his moves.' Kazuki recalled the incident when Kokuro activated Diffusion-Wave Motion against Fuuten's Kuriboh Brothers.

"I suppose I'll just set one monster on guard and end my turn," Kokuro said as the horizontal card appeared on the field.

"Then its time to take care of your Buster Blader," Kazuki said drawing. "Shinato, Divine Ring!" The purple orbs appeared creating the spinning ring once again which was sent to destroy Buster Blader.

"Sorry Buster," Kokuro murmured as his monster took the hit and was destroyed before the ring slammed into Kokuro again; Kokuro was better prepared for it this time though. Ko: (6800)

"My move is done," Kazuki stated.

"Let's see if this magician can pull something out of his sleeve," Kokuro said drawing. "Pot of Greed will certainly help," he said as the green pot appeared allowing him to draw twice before it shattered. Ko: (7300) "Perfect," he said smiling.

"Got a good draw?" Kazuki asked.

"You bet!" Kokuro said sliding one of the original cards in his hand into his disk, "I activate Cost Down," he announced as he began to glow a little. Ko: (7800) "I discard Magician's Circle in order to offer up my face down Apprentice Magician to summon my Black Magician of Chaos without a second sacrifice!"

"Awesome!" Mia said excitedly.

"A good turn of events for him indeed," Yaku agreed smiling.

The blue armored magician appeared on the field glaring at Shinato, (2800/2600) "Seems like my Chaos Magician has something against Shinato."

"I once heard a rumor that Yugi once faced off against a Shinato using your magician's counterpart, the Magician of Black Chaos, the card I carry."

"Oh, is that so?" Kokuro asked. "Well, my Chaos Magician might just get his chance to make another triumphant comeback, first his power allows me to bring back a spell card, and I choose Pot of Greed which I play immediately." Ko: (8300) Kokuro drew twice more and smirked. "Time for my magician to activate the power of Riryoku," Kokuro called out as his spell appeared on the field. Ko: (8800) The mage began to glow with holy light causing Shinato to glow as well. Shinato began to look very confused as its attack power fell. (1650/3000) The Black Magician of Chaos smirked as it began to glowed brighter and its attack rose up. (4450/2600)

'Sorry Seirei,' Kazuki thought to himself.

"Black Magician of Chaos, wipe out Shinato!" The Magician rose up and pointed its staff at Shinato. He gathered a ball of white energy into the tip of his staff before releasing it into Shinato destroying him.

Kazuki looked on and watched as the rest of the attack enveloped his entire body. Ka: (2200)

Up in the last row in the audience, a girl with long black hair going almost fully down her back was staring at the two with her hazel eyes just as Shinato's stats were changing. She had an Obelisk blue skirt on and a blue sash wrapped around her waist. 'It's alright, I forgive you,' she thought when her eyes turned to Kazuki. She heard foot steps and closed her eyes smiling as a hand was placed on her shoulder.

"Have you found anything out?" came Kaiba's cold voice.

"That demon is still on this island," she replied.

"Where is he then?" he asked her.

"I can't pinpoint his location," she said with a troubled voice. "He moves through the shadows, it's almost impossible to follow him. He never stays in one spot for long, I almost think he knows I'm after him."

"This is ridiculous," Kaiba said teeth gritted. "How can someone move through shadows?"

"You know the answer to that better than most," the girl replied opening her eyes, a small smile found its way back onto her face.

"Don't start with that magic stuff right now, I'm not in the mood," he said even colder.

"As you wish," she said closing her eyes again.

"Are you sure you can't pinpoint him?" he asked again.

She couldn't help but smirk a little, "You question magic yet you believe in my spiritual powers?"

"Notify me the moment you find anything," he said annoyed and walked away. She opened her eyes and smiled as the Black Magician of Chaos went back to Kokuro's side of the field.

"As you know," Kokuro said to Kazuki, "Since my Black Magician of Chaos destroyed Shinato, your monster is removed from the game."

"I'm aware," Kazuki said taking the card off his disk and putting it into his pocket.

"That ends my turn."

Kazuki drew his new card and looked down at it, "I'll activate Card of Demise," he announced as he picked up his cards. "You know the drill, in five turns I discard my entire hand."

"And then you'll be defenseless," Kokuro grinned. Ko: (9300)

"That's if this duel lasts that long," Kazuki grinned back. "I'm activating a card I'm sure you're familiar with, it's called End of the World!" The card appeared and the ground began to shake once again as the arena got darker. "If you remember, I have to offer up monsters whose level equal eight exactly.

"I remember," Kokuro said as he began to glow a bit again. Ko: (9800)

"Then I'll discard Ruin," he said as he slid the card into the graveyard. Ruin appeared momentarily before vanishing into the Samsara box.

"Wait…how are you going to summon her if you discard her?" Kokuro asked confused.

"End of the world can summon another monster besides Ruin," Kazuki said grinning. "And this one is stronger!"

"It's not possible!" Kokuro thought shocked.

"Then who do you suppose this is?" Kazuki asked as a dark terrifying figure began to rise up out of the cracks in the earth. The ceiling grew dark and the lights dimmed, as the figure came into view. He had black armor with a few white pieces with spikes on them. He wielded a huge axe and he had a black and white helmet on. He radiated a dark blue aura while he stared down at Kokuro's Black Magician of Chaos. (2400/2000)

"That thing's not so strong," Kokuro thought relieved.

"Demise, King of Armageddon, activate your special ability, Armageddon!" Kokuro stared in horror as Demise began to glow even darker. His aura erupted from his body causing the entire arena to crack and sparkle with electricity. Everything in its path was destroyed; including Kokuro's Black Magician of Chaos.

"What's happening?" Kokuro shouted as all of his Spells and Traps were destroyed.

"Demise is destroying everything around him," Kazuki said as he watched the rest of the arena shatter.

"I'm scared," Katsu said grabbing onto Sonomi and burying her face into Sonomi's side.

"That…that thing's amazing," Yaku said barely audible. "Even…even I didn't know he had that…thing."

Mia just stared down at Demise shivering, 'Kokuro…' she thought.

"Don't be so frightened," Kazuki said calmly. "He's not my strongest Ritual Monster. I have one of far more power, but I keep it side decked. It's a bit too much for even my taste." Ka: (200)

Kokuro just stared at the rubble in front of him, and the creature that stood there on the other side facing him. Gulping, he found the words he was looking for, "What happened to your Life Points?"

"Demise's ability makes me pay 2000 Life Points to use," Kazuki answered. "Demise doesn't play favorites. He destroys everything but himself, and now it's time for you." Kokuro gulped. "Demise, attack Kokuro! Doomsday Slash!" The demon rushed towards Kokuro with its glowing blue axe. On impulse Kokuro took a card from his hand and discarded it to the graveyard.

Kuriboh appeared on the field to defend Kokuro but was immediately eliminated by Demise. Kokuro stood shocked as he watched Kuriboh vanish.

"Kuriboh," Sonomi muttered, causing Katsu to glance out at the field.

"It's your move," Kazuki said slightly disappointed.

Kokuro didn't make a move. He just stared up at the huge beast. The image of Kuriboh being destroyed in front of him ran through his head more times than he cared to count. Kazuki was about to say something when Kokuro's eyes narrowed. He pulled a card from his disk and looked at it. 'Sage's Stone,' Kokuro thought in his head. 'No use.' "I have to end," he said upset.

"Very well," Kazuki said drawing his card. "Demise, attack Kokuro!" Demise ran forward once more and this time his attack was successful. Kokuro screamed out in pain as the axe slashed him right down the middle, he fell to his knees. Ko: (6900) Kazuki took a moment to slide a card into his disk. "I activate the quick-play Sebek's Blessings." He said as the alligator appeared on the field. It raised its staff and caused Kazuki to glow with a white light, the only bright light in the arena at the moment. Ka: (2600)

Kokuro was slowly standing up, "I'll beat that thing," he gasped.

"Then good luck," Kazuki said as he slid another card into his disk causing it to appear face down. "Your move."

Kokuro drew his card and glanced at it, "One on guard and go," he said as the face down monster appeared.

"I hate to say it, but you failed to beat it," Kazuki grinned as he drew. Kokuro simply glared at him very annoyed. "I reverse my face down Sixth Sense, let's see what I get. Five and Six." The die appeared on the field and flew onto the ground bouncing a couple of times before landing on a Five. "Looks like I win," he smiled drawing five cards.

"Congrats for you," Kokuro said still annoyed.

"Kokuro's being pretty distant," Mia noted.

"I'm not surprised if he's thinking of Ritsuzen," Sonomi replied.

"Ritsuzen?" Kahou asked. "Why him?"

"That thing is a Demon," Sonomi pointed at Demise. "I think he's picturing Ritsuzen using it after watching this duel."

"It's a good hypothesis," came a sinister voice from behind them. They turned around shocked to see Ritsuzen taking a seat in back of them. "But it's faulty."

"What are you doing here?" Sonomi glared at him.

"I came to watch Kokuro get himself murdered by the Academy's number one," he responded calmly.

"Now, now Ritsuzen," Kyusai-Sensei said sitting down next to him. "You don't need to talk like _that_."

"So why wouldn't you use it?" Yaku asked.

"I run a combination of Zombies and Demons incase you forgot, the likelihood of making much use out of a Ritual Monster would be quite scarce."

"You're a jerk," Yaku told him, "but you've got a good point."

"Of course I've got a good point you imbecile. I was not only the Legend, but I was also number one in the North School."

"You were number one!" Sonomi laughed. "You may have been tough, but I doubt a number one position."

"You want to take this outside?" Ritsuzen asked her.

"Gladly," she smirked.

* * *

"It's time for you to see the closing of our duel," Kazuki said showing Kokuro another End of the World card. "Your time is limited," he slid the card into the disk and the entire field got even darker as a dark vortex began to appear in the air. A Hungry Hamburger and a Brainjacker appeared on the field momentarily before being swallowed by the void. A dark haze erupted from the vortex and the ground began to shake.

"Not Ruin!" Kokuro gasped looking up as the tall female began to descend from the vortex. Her long white hair rustled in the wind as she slowly made her way down, emitting a dark black aura. The arrival of Ruin had turned everyone's head back to the field once more.

"Let's wait till after the duel to have out little fight," Sonomi said sitting back down.

"If you say so," Ritsuzen shrugged.

"Come to think of it, you're pretty much a hypocrite," Sonomi said as an afterthought.

"And what makes you assume that?" Ritsuzen asked.

"You constantly say you don't want to be bothered by other duelists, especially someone who has already lost, so why would you still want to duel Kokuro? He's not only lost to Mia, but he's lost to Kazuki before as well."

"Well, due to Kyusai's never ending lecturing, I've decided to crush all of you," he said smirking. "You see, you all think you're better than me, it will take a heavy beating from me to put you all in your place. I'll start with you, then I'll move onto your friends, and finally I'll crush Kokuro."

"Talk about obsession," Katsu said rolling her eyes.

Kokuro looked at the newest monster on Kazuki's side of the field, Ruin, Queen of Oblivion. (2300/2000) "Kokuro," Kazuki said looking at him. "If you're still having those ideas that you're going to beat Demise, you need to hurry up and do it."

'Truth is, I don't know if I can,' Kokuro thought to himself. 'That doesn't mean I'm not going to try though.'

"Ruin, destroy his on guard monster," Kazuki announced. Ruin pointed her axe like scepter at the down monster. Skilled Black Magician (1900/1700) appeared on the field crouching down. She flung her axe over at it slicing him in half before he was blown apart in pixels. She rushed forward and grabbed the Axe that had landed right in front of Kokuro. "While you're at it Ruin, attack again!" Ruin lifted the handle up hard slashing Kokuro up the middle of his body. Ko: (4600) Ruin snidely walked back over to Kazuki's side of the field. "And now it's your turn Demise!"

Demise pointed his axe at Kokuro. A blue aura axe appeared in front of him and suddenly vaulted forward going through Kokuro. He cried out in pain as he fell to the ground. Ko: (2200)

"Perhaps Kazuki is worthy of a duel against me," Ritsuzen laughed. "He certainly knows how to make that fool suffer."

"Just shut it," Kahou said getting annoyed. "Better yet why not leave?"

"Alright guys let's not get nasty," Kyusai-Sensei said intervening.

Up in the secret balcony, Headmaster Kaiba was watching the duel play out. 'It's not looking good for Kokuro at all,' he thought to himself. His eyes couldn't help but shift down to Ritsuzen in the audience. 'You think you're still safe Ritsuzen, but I can promise that this isn't the end of it.' He turned to the girl at the computer, "E-mail all the head staff, inform them of a faculty meeting tomorrow after classes."

"Yes sir," the girl bowed turning back to the computer.

On the arena floor, Kokuro was slowly standing up, breathing heavily. "Tell me you're done."

"Of course," Kazuki said nodding.

Kokuro drew his card and looked at it for a moment. 'What can I do with this?' he thought. I need to remember what he's played so far.' He thought for a moment before finally sliding the card into his disk. "I activate Double Spell discarding my Black Magic Attack to do so," he said as Kazuki's graveyard began to shine and the large green pot from earlier appeared on the field. "I've used your Pot of Greed," Kokuro said pulling two cards from his deck into his hand. He grimaced when he saw Breaker and Diffusion-Wave Motion. "I set one monster on guard and end."

"My move," Kazuki said drawing. He looked off to his left giving off a small smile before returning to the field. "Ruin, attack!" Breaker didn't stand a chance against the queen's axe attack. "Ruin, direct attack!"

"This is it!" Yaku said shocked.

"Poor Kokuro," Katsu said grabbing Sonomi's arm without realizing it.

"Yes," Ritsuzen said with fake sympathy. "Poor Kokuro."

Kokuro watched in horror as the queen came right at him slamming her axe into his chest knocking him onto the ground. Ko: (0) The queen sneered at him momentarily before her and Demise both vanished and the damage done to the arena disappeared.

"_And the winner of the Duelist Academy Duel Project is Obelisk's Blue's Kazuki Ishihaka!" _the announcer cried out as the audience began cheering with applause.

Up in the audience, the girl that Kaiba had approached was smiling. "That boy has talent," she said looking down at Kokuro. "They both do. I'll have to advise Master Kaiba to include them if things should get that far." She closed her eyes and jumped up with a start, her eyes narrowed. 'So that's where you're hiding.' She thought to herself. 'Master Kaiba told me to inform him if I found that guy, but I can't risk him escaping.' She rushed out of the arena in search of the presence she had sensed.

* * *

Kazuki walked over to Kokuro and helped him up as the others were rushing into the arena. "Kokuro," they had called out.

"You ok?" Kazuki asked him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kokuro said rubbing his back. "I'm in a bit of pain, but I'll get over it."

"That was an excellent duel," Kazuki said smiling.

"It sure was," Kokuro said grinning. "One of these days I'm going to beat you."

"I'll look forward to that day," Kazuki smiled as they shook hands.

"So you're accepting the loss," Katsu asked him.

"What else can I do?" Kokuro said turning to her. "I've…" he paused a moment looking at her. "I've lost and I can't change that. Only thing to do now is get on with my life and look forward to the next duel." Katsu seemed content with the answer and then Kokuro continued, "Um, so, who are you?"

"This is Katsu," Sonomi said introducing them.

"Nice to meetcha," Katsu said shaking.

"Likewise," Kokuro smiled.

As they were talking about the duel Seto Kaiba came down into the arena and they all immediately gave him a bow. "Greetings Master Kaiba," they said.

"I wanted to compliment you both on a well played duel," he said looking at Kokuro and Kazuki. "And you as well," he said turning to Sonomi. "You all played exceptionally well, and I'm proud of you all."

"Thank you Master Kaiba," the three said bowing.

"Kazuki, I have a job for you. If you would please meet me in my office, I'll give you the details."

"Look's like I'll be going," Kazuki said walking off with Kaiba.

"Thanks again for a great duel," Kokuro said waving as the two walked off.

'It was my pleasure,' Kazuki thought to himself.

* * *

Peaches was stepping out of a cave hidden deep in the forest, 'It appears that we're getting closer to making our move,' he grinned. 'It's about time. All this waiting is going to make me crazy.' He pulled out his list and looked it over quickly before he started to head into the forest.

"Halt!" a voice called out causing Peaches to turn in the direction of the voice. "So I've finally found you," the girl from the audience said as she glared at Peaches. She still had her uniform on but she also had a Duel Disk on her arm.

"And how did you find me?" Peaches asked turning around, doing his best to sound as innocent as possible.

"It's easy when you're gifted," she smirked. "Now I believe that Master Kaiba would like to have a word with you."

"I'm afraid I don't want to have a word with him, so it seems you've traveled all this way for nothing."

"How about a duel to determine whether or not you come with me?" she asked as she pulled her cards out of her pocket.

Peaches reared back, as if struck by some kind of invisible force. "So…you're the one I was warned to look out for."

"I guess you sense them then," she said as she slid her deck into her Duel Disk and it unfolded.

"Yes," Peaches said as he pulled out his own deck. A shiver ran down the girl's spine as he inserted his deck into his black Duel Disk which unfolded. "And I see that you can sense the darkness of my deck," he smirked.

"Cards like those aren't dark to begin with," she glared. "They've just been corrupted by your evil energy."

"Though it matters not," Peaches smirked. "It's time to duel."

* * *

Kaiba allowed Kazuki into his office and he shut the door behind him. He went over to the large window that overlooked the island and stared out into the distance. "Seirei is having trouble finding that Peaches' Duelist, however she's positive that he's not like the rest of us."

"How many times are you going to deny the existence of magic?" Kazuki asked him.

"And what makes you such a believer?" Kazuki asked.

"Well, there's obviously Seirei herself," Kazuki pointed out. "And even Elda has showed me a thing or two."

"Elda?" Kaiba asked looking over at him. "What does she have to do with that nonsense?"

"It's too hard to explain right now," Kazuki said smiling.

"Look, ever since 'that duel' I've realized that perhaps there was truth to what Mouto said all those years. It doesn't mean that I have to like it and it certainly doesn't mean I have to go around telling people I doubt my old ways."

"So then what's with all the talk of it being nonsense?"

"I have to act professional around my students," Kaiba smirked. "I can't allow their minds to be poisoned."

"You're so generous," Kazuki said grinning.

"Speaking of professionalism, it's time to get down to business. I have no doubt that she'll find whoever's truly responsible for the disturbances surrounding this academy. But I'm not confident that she'll be able to beat them even if she does find them."

"I'm surprised, you've always seemed confident in her abilities," Kazuki replied.

"I am, but we might need a bit more force, and I would like to not have to get overly involved. It's hard enough making sure my younger brother takes care of Kaiba Corp and Kaiba Land while I'm looking over things here, plus with everything that _is _going on here, I can't afford to get myself distracted."

"I thought you would be all for getting to the bottom of this and solving it yourself."

"Nothing would feel better than proving to whomever's out there that if they mess with my academy they mess with me, but I need to try to allow these events to pass without my interference. That's why I'm calling in a recruit. You remember Denkiteki Arare don't you?"

"You're calling in _him_!" Kazuki asked as his eyes widened.

"I felt it would make the job much easier for all of us," Kaiba grinned.

"Yeah but…"

"That's where you come in," Kaiba interrupted. "I need you to help him in the investigation. I want you, him, and Seirei to work together to find out who's responsible for the incidents and to take care of it."

"Out of curiosity, why haven't you involved Samé, Hinote, and Notosa?" Kazuki asked. "They're all exceptional duelists and I think they would be valuable members to this team."

"I have another plan for those three," Kaiba said grinning. "They're going to help me in a slightly different way. And I'll be bringing that up in the next board meeting tomorrow."

"You're really something Kaiba," Kazuki said after a moment of silence.

"And why's that?" Kaiba asked him.

"You've always spent your life rejecting the help of others, and now you embrace it as if you've done it all you're life."

"That's not entirely true," Kaiba smirked. "I'm treating you all as my employees and I'm your employer. The thing is that none of you are getting paid and half of you don't even realize it."

"Always the business man first eh Kaiba?"

"Always," Kaiba grinned.

* * *

It was later on in the evening and everyone was gathered together in Yaku's room. Kokuro, Sonomi, Mia, Kahou, Katsu, Jordan, Setsuna, Fuuten, and Yaku were all drinking soda's while eating chips and sandwiches, "This is great guys," Mia said excited.

"To the end of a great day," Kahou said lifting up his glass. The sound of clanking glasses was heard as they all tapped them together. Yaku got everyone together for a picture and then set it on his camera pole and joined others by the door. Everyone scrambled to get a spot in the picture before the flash went off. Just before the camera took the picture Kazuki walked into the room and looked at everyone in an odd manner. The flash went off and they all started laughing when they saw the picture.

"You look so lost Kazuki," Yaku said elbowing him.

"At least he made the picture," Fuuten said chuckling.

"Maybe there is some hope for ya," Kahou said laughing.

"So what are you all doing here?" Kazuki asked.

"We're having an after 'the project' feast," Setsuna said cheerfully.

"Soda, chips and sandwiches," Kazuki said looking it over, "some feast."

"Oh get over it," Katsu said taking a bite.

"You do realize that we have classes tomorrow right?" he asked.

"We'll be fine," Kokuro said taking a sip of his soda. "For now let's just enjoy this time with friends."

"And don't forget," Jordan said looking at the five Ra's in the room. "You guys promised to help me."

"We will," Fuuten said happily. The evening went on with them all having fun and hanging out until they dispersed and went into their own dorms, waiting for the adventures of the next day.


	34. Light Vs White!

Sdrive: The duel in this chapter features a lot of cards from the anime and for some of them I've implemented anime rules. So when some of the Anime Cards in question come up, please don't say "you screwed up, this is how it works." Also for one of them I've mixed the rulings. Either way, I think it will be a good duel, so thanks in advance.

* * *

Light came pouring through Kokuro's room as Mia slid the drapes off to the side, 'what a beautiful day,' she thought smiling. Sonomi came out of the bathroom fully dressed and looked over at Kokuro's bed.

"Is he dead or something?" she asked pointing.

"I'll check!" Mia said excited. She ran over to the bed and looked inside to see Kokuro wrapped up in his blanket in a deep sleep. "Wake up sleepy head!" she said shaking him a bit too hard.

"I dun wanna," came the muffled response.

"What if I gave you a hug?" she asked. Kokuro rolled over and looked at her with tired eyes before she wrapped her arms around him in a giant hug. She let go and looked to see Kokuro fighting off a smile. "I see you're awake now," Mia said in a sing song voice. Kokuro just grumbled and got himself out of bed and headed to the bathroom.

"You're so mean to him," Sonomi smirked as she walked over to her friend and gave her a low five.

"I'm mean with happiness and love," she said giggling.

* * *

The three friends were heading up towards the main academy and as usual, Kokuro had gotten them into a strange discussion. "I'm just saying, what if you gave a Gravekeeper a tombstone for their birthday?"

"Why in the world would you even do something like that?" Sonomi asked disgusted.

"Well, don't Gravekeepers deserve Pizza on their birthday?" Kokuro asked. "I mean, sure I'm not a huge pizza fan but I thought people liked that."

"Just stop talking Kokuro," Sonomi said as they entered the main building. "Or else I'll be forced to pretend I don't know you again."

As they got in they overheard many strange conversations that the students were talking to with each other.

"I heard he was found unconscious in the forest," one Obelisk was saying to a Ra.

"I heard that he was a she," the Ra replied.

"Did you hear about that weird girl?" an Osiris asked another Osiris.

"If the rumors are true from before she's probably just in a 'meditative state,' the other Osiris said.

"What's going on?" Mia asked the two Osiris students.

"There's a girl in the nurse's room," the first one said. "She's apparently unconscious or something but I don't believe it. Form what I've heard she's supposedly some kind of Shinto or something or other. She's probably just doing some kind of crazy meditation thingy."

"Sounds interesting," Mia said. "Let's go check it out," she ran down the hall as the other two followed after her leaving the two Osiris' to their own business.

They were stopped by a large group of students in front of the nurse's office; all of them trying to get a look at the unconscious girl. "There sure are a lot of people here," Sonomi said once they had caught up with Mia.

"There sure are," Mia agreed.

"All right! Get to class all of you!" a loud booming voice shouted. All but the three dispersed as they saw Seto Kaiba walking down the hallway. He turned to the group, "that goes for you three as well," he said before turning and entering the door.

Before the door was closed Kokuro got a glimpse of the girl, she was an Obelisk Blue with long black hair. 'I hope she'll be ok,' Kokuro thought to himself before they headed towards class.

Mia parted ways with the other two and they headed off towards Professor Hikari's class. "So Sonomi," Kokuro said once Mia had left. "I just want to make sure that we're alright."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, we were so caught up with the tournament I just want to make sure that we're ok after, ya know…"

"Oh that?" she asked getting slightly red. "That was nothing, think nothing of it."

"You're sure?" he asked.

"Of course," she said.

"Alright, I just wanted to make sure we were ok," Kokuro said smiling at her.

"Yeah," she said as the color returned to her face.

They walked inside the room and Professor Hikari gave them both a small huff as they took their seats. "Well class, first I'd like to say that although they both lost, Ms. Hinote and that other boy whose name I seemed to have forgotten still did fairly well in the tournament."

"He's so just saying that to point out that we both lost against Kazuki," Kokuro said annoyed.

"You think?" Sonomi said glaring at Hikari.

"Anyway class, today instead of a lecture I've prepared a reading assignment. Turn to page 260 in you texts and read to page 330. Once you're done you have to turn in a summarized paper of what you read. This will be graded and anyone that doesn't get it in within the appointed time will get a zero. You have all class." He sat down in his seat and began looking at his schedule.

"Talk about a royal pain," Sonomi said. "Seventy pages plus a writing assignment? Either he's in a bad mood or there's just other stuff on his mind." She finally turned to Kokuro, "Are you even liste…" she was shocked when she saw that Kokuro was already reading intently. She couldn't help but smile, 'he took that Valedictorian challenge seriously.'

* * *

Once classes were over Kokuro and Mia began to head off towards the Ra Yellow Arena. "I just love Gym!" Mia said stretching out. "Nothing makes me feel better than kicking your butt in a sport," she teased as she looked over at a very gloomy Kokuro.

"It's just not fair," he said with his head down. "You didn't even break a sweat."

"One day you'll find something you can beat me in," she said putting her arm through his. "Until then you'll just have to take your defeat like a man and suck it up."

"You're mean," he said looking at her.

"I'm mean with happiness and love," she said giving off her peace sign.

They entered the arena and saw that Jordan and Yaku had already gotten there, "Well, it looks like you guys made it after all," Yaku laughed.

"We told you we'd come help Jordan out," Kokuro said walking over to them.

"Yeah but I got really worried anyway," Jordan said looking down.

"With good reasons," Sonomi said entering the arena. "You have confidence issues kid, hate to tell it to ya."

"I know," he said glumly.

"That's what we need to fix," Yaku pointed out. "We need to not only make you a better duelist; we need to get you more confident in your abilities."

"How do you propose we do that?" Jordan asked.

"Who knows?" Sonomi said shrugging. "But if you don't change now, you're going to be a lost cause."

Jordan glared at her for a few seconds before finally gulping loudly, "alright then, I challenge you Sonomi!"

Everyone in the room turned to him as if he was crazy. "You're challenging her!" Mia asked worried for him. "She'll destroy you!"

"Maybe not," Jordan said swallowing. "I mean, think of it, if I beat her, I'll overcome my fear of girls, and my rank will sky rocket. There's no downside."

"Other than crushed confidence for life," Sonomi said.

"And feeling like a complete loser," Yaku nodded in agreement. "Face it Jordan, you don't have a chance against Sonomi. "Why not start with someone a bit…easier.

"I don't care," Jordan said getting mad. "I'm going to duel you now!" he shouted at her.

"Suite yourself," Sonomi said smirking. "Just don't go crying to mommy when I win."

"Um…Sonomi…" Kokuro began.

"Quite Kokuro!" Sonomi interrupted. "If he wants to make a fool out of himself then let him; I'll make sure he gets what's coming to him."

Jordan's eyes bugged out and he looked very scared, 'did I make a mistake?' he thought to himself.

"Oh yeah," Yaku said looking at him. "I can guess what you're thinking and yeah, a huge one."

The others walked down onto the side of the arena and looked up to watch the duel get ready to start. "Ti…time to d…duel…" Jordan said nervously.

"Game on," Sonomi said drawing six cards. "I'll begin and I'll activate Dark Room of Nightmare. I'll then set four cards under the table and then I'll summon UFO Turtle!" The green turtle with the metallic saucer appeared on the field. (1400/1200) "You're move," she said.

"She just emptied her entire hand!" Mia said astounded.

"Um…" Jordan looked at the cards in his hand and warily placed a card on the field. "Mechanical Chaser," he said as the robotic orb with multiple arms, one holding a spear appeared on the field. (1850/800)

"To your summon I'll chain my Backfire Trap. Now any fire attribute monsters that you destroy will do 500 points of damage to you."

"Fine, I attack anyway!"

"Is he nuts?" Yaku screamed.

The machine threw a spear into the turtle causing it to explode and the spear to head right or Sonomi. "Reverse Dimension Wall!" she smirked as a vortex appeared on the field causing the spear to come out a vortex behind Jordan. He was struck by the spear, caught in the explosion, and then a purple aura engulfed him making him fall to the ground.

"If I'm right that's 500, plus another 450 due to your attack and then the 300 extra from Dark Room, for a grand total of 1250," she smirked. Jo: (6750) "Now, onto phase two of my trap, your attack set off my UFO Turtle's ability, so come on out Solar Flare Dragon!" she announced as the fiery dragon appeared on the field roaring. (1500/1000) "And that allows me to activate this!" she said as another card lifted. "Inferno Reckless Summon!"

"Hey, that's the card I gave her," Mia said smiling.

"What does it do?" Kokuro asked her.

"You'll see," Mia said winking.

"I can only activate this when a monster with 1500 attack or less is special summoned to my side of the field. Now I can take all cards with that name from my hand, deck and graveyard and summon them to the field, as for you, you can summon as many copies of one of your monsters to the field from your hand, deck and graveyard." The ground began to break open and fire spit out of the cracks as two Solar Flare Dragons (1500/1000 x2) appeared on the field while two Mechanical Chasers (1850/800 x2) also appeared. "And while they're on the field you can't attack any other pyro monsters," she said smirking.

"I'm not out of this yet," he said growling. "None of your monsters can get past my Mechanical Chaser and I'm going to strengthen one of them with a 7 Completed." A large seven appeared on the middle Mechanical Chaser and its attack power went up. (2550/800) "I'm done," Jordan said. Then he let out a big sigh of relief and nearly collapsed on the ground.

"That's almost kind of impressive," Yaku admitted.

"My move," Sonomi said drawing her card. "I summon Ultimate Baseball Kid!" she announced as soon as she saw what it was. A small Baseball Player appeared on the field banging the bat against his cleats. (500/1000) "And this little guy gets an extra 1000 attack points for every other fire monster on the field. So that's an extra 3000 attack points!" (3500/1000)

"No way!" Jordan said amazed.

"Ultimate Baseball Player, knock the Mechanical Chaser on his left out of the park!" she commanded. The baseball player ran forward as his bat caught on fire. He swung the bat at the mechanical chaser which was slammed into the audience stands before shattering. Jo: (5100) "Now my Solar Flare Dragons get a whack at you. I end my turn causing them each to take out 500 points from your Life Points, that also allows my Dark Room of Nightmare to damage you three times," she grinned evilly.

"Oh no!" he shouted as three balls of fire slammed into his chest and a dark aura flared up from around him. Jo: (2700) He weakly stood up and pulled the top card of his deck. "I switch my two machines and then set Machine King Prototype and end."

"He's so scared that he told her what his down monster is," Mia said sadly.

"I'm kind of scared myself," Kokuro said with a nervous look on his face.

Sonomi drew her card and laughed, "I summon Gaia Soul the Combustible Collective!" she said as the collected magma creature appeared on the field. (2000/0) "By sacrificing two pyros I can increase Gaia's attack by 2000 and even without that he has a trample effect!" Two of the Solar Flare Dragon's vanished and the magma creature got larger. (4000/0)

"He's toast," Yaku said.

"Attack Mechanical Chaser!" she commanded the Gaia Soul. It blasted a massive stream of fire that engulfed the Machine and then went on to engulf Jordan. Jo: (0) "In case you were wondering; my last down card was Spiritual Fire Art-Kurenai," she said smirking.

Jordan fell to the ground in a heap, "I don't believe it."

"You really don't believe it?" Yaku asked stunned. "I thought you should have expected this by now. Your deck is decent but it's the duelist that counts dude. I really hate to say it but you're an amateur duelist and you set your hopes way too high and you keep picking battles with people that are far superior to you."

"You think I have a chance beating Professor Hikari?" Jordan looked up.

"No!" they all shouted at him at the same time.

"I'd say he has to learn the basics of dueling first," a voice from the arena entrance said. Everyone turned to see Kazuki coming into the arena.

"How long have you been there?" Jordan asked with slight distaste in his voice.

"I've been here from the beginning, but I wanted to wait to see how you would react before I showed myself." Jordan just stared at him as he continued. "You have what's called fool's courage. You blindly challenge people expecting way too much out of yourself all for the soul purpose of trying to impress others. That's not what dueling is about at all."

"Then what is it about?" Jordan asked standing up.

"I think the best way for you to experience it is to witness it in action, that's why I challenge Kokuro to a duel."

"Me?" Kokuro asked pointing at himself. "But we just dueled yesterday."

"You're not worried are you?" Kazuki smirked.

"You only wish I was worried," Kokuro smirked back at him.

"Then let's duel."

* * *

In the board room Seto Kaiba was sitting at the head of a long, mahogany desk that had each head dormitory member along with several other staff members sitting on the desk. "As you're all aware, there's been an infiltration in the academy. I can't pinpoint where he's hiding out, or even if he's working alone, but this 'Peache's' character is obviously a threat to this academy. Up until two hours ago, the person I had seeking him out was unconscious in the nurse's office, but she seems to be back on her feet now, though she doesn't remember a thing."

"That girl right?" Jukata-Sensei asked. "The special one?"

"Yeah," Kaiba nodded.

"I didn't like the idea of that girl being a part of this to begin with," Professor Hikari said. "If you ask me, she got what was coming to her."

"Talk about my student like that again and I'll…" a male Obelisk Blue administrator began but Kaiba cut him off.

"Joretsu Joutan," Kaiba said sternly. "I'll handle Hikari. Stay out of this Hikari, I trust her and that's all you need to concern yourself with. Now then, as only some of you know, I've called in Denkiteki from the East School." Murmurs spread throughout the room as the teachers started asking whether or not the ones sitting next to them new. Kaiba cleared his throat and they all looked back at him, "There's also the problem with Ritsuzen. I failed, unfortunately, to get him to join the project; that means that my overall plan was ruined. I have an idea but the floor is open to discussion."

"Well the duel tournament is most likely out," Joretsu said.

"In his defense," Kyusai-Sensei began. "He seems to be much calmer. He's even agreed to duel other students."

"He's only doing that to raise his own rank to get back into Obelisk Blue," Jukata-Sensei replied. "It's obvious, and once he's back there his power trip will come right back and he'll go back to being a manipulative brat. Then again, having him in Obelisk is much better than trying to reason with him in my dorm."

"So in other words you're willing to try just about anything as long as it gets him out of your hair huh?" Joretsu interjected.

"In case you've forgotten," Hikari butted in. "He was in Ra for a while and I had no problems with him."

"You wouldn't," Jukata-Sensei said under his breath.

"What was that!" Hikari yelled at him.

"Oh nothing," Jukata-Sensei said grinning.

"ENOUGH!" Kaiba shouted getting everyone's attention once more. "This is your last warning Hikari! If you keep this up I'm going to throw you out of the room."

"I'm sure that would help you out greatly," Hikari sneered. "Nothing would make you happier than getting me out of here huh?"

"That's it Hikari, you're dismissed from this meeting! You can wait in my office and then we'll discuss your employment once this is over with."

The room fell silent except for Hikari who stood up smirking, "Oh really? And who in here is good enough to teach the Ra students? If you remember, I'm the top tactical duelist in this room."

"If you remember," Kaiba shot back, "you've also lost your glory since we first met. You got so hooked on the rare cards here at the academy that you lost the very thing I hired you for!"

"You don't think I realized that?" Hikari asked him. "After my defeat to Hinote I took a long hard look at my deck, and I scrapped it."

"You did what?" Kaiba asked stunned.

"I started from scratch, using some of my old tricks, but created a deck truly worthy of my potential. I haven't dueled since because I've been waiting for the perfect opportunity at a duel, and I dare say the opportunity is fast approaching."

"Are you challenging me to a duel Hikari?" Kaiba asked with venom in his voice.

"I am, Headmaster Kaiba, I challenge you! Let's see if you've still got the skills _you_ had in _your_ glory days."

"You're going to regret this you fool," Kaiba said smirking as he pressed a button underneath the table. The floor opened up and the table began to descend into it before the floor closed up. Everyone had gotten out of their chairs just as they also began to descend into the ground. "I'm always ready for a challenge, and this board room is no exception," he said grinning.

"Then lets see what the great Seto Kaiba can do," Hikari smirked as he pulled his deck out of his pocket and grabbed a Duel Disk from a shelf on the side of the room. Kaiba opened up the briefcase that had been by his feet and pulled out a Duel Disk that resembled the body of a Blue Eyes White Dragon with the deck holster as its mouth and two wings that had monster zones on them on either side of the body. Hikari slid his deck into the his disk causing it to unfold as Kaiba slid his own deck into his duel disk and it unfolded in the same way the old Battle City Duel Disks unfolded.

"Let's duel!" They called out.

"I'll begin this duel," Kaiba said as he drew the top card of his deck. 'Excellent,' he thought. 'Hikari doesn't stand a chance.' He took a card from his hand and placed it onto his dragon's wing causing it to give off a rainbow effect, "To begin, I'll summon Peten the Dark Clown," he announced as a fancy looking clown appeared on the field giving a bow to Hikari. (500/1200) "Next I'll set two cards under the table," he announced placing the two cards inside of the dragon wing. The two cards appeared on the field and he smirked, "you're move."

'Kaiba, Kaiba, Kaiba,' Hikari thought drawing his card. 'You're well known for your face down strategies. Those two cards could be your famous Ring of Destruction and Ring of Defense move. And if it wasn't for your Peten I'd say it was Shrink and Crush Card Virus. However…' "You're face down cards don't bother me," he said grinning.

"And why is that?" Kaiba asked.

"Because I'm willing to bet that one of those two cards is Crush Card. I'll be honest I'm not sure what the other is, but I'm going to stop it all the same."

"Try me," Kaiba said glaring.

"As you wish," Professor Hikari said placing a card onto his disk. "I summon Mirage Dragon." A long yellow dragon appeared on the field growling loudly. (1600/600)

'No! I can only activate my Crush Card Virus during the battle phase…' Kaiba thought grimily.

"Mirage Dragon, attack Peten with Aurora Beam Blast!" Professor Hikari called out as the dragon shot a rainbow colored beam of light at the clown destroying it instantly. Ka: (6900) "Nice try Kaiba, but I've studied your deck excessively well, I know every in and out of it and I'll be honest, I truly admire your tactical expertise. If I'm not mistaken, next you'll remove your first Peten from play to summon another from your deck."

Hikari smirked as he watched a new Peten appear on the field bowing. "Just finish your move," Kaiba growled.

"My pleasure," Professor Hikari said taking two cards from his hand and setting them into his disk. "Two cards under the table and it's your move."

"Good then stand back," Kaiba said drawing.

"And thus activates the first of my face down cards," Hikari said as one of his two cards lifted up.

"And what is that!" Kaiba asked.

"It's a card called Xing Zhen Hu," he said as a vase with a box appeared tied onto it appeared on the field. "These are called the Dragon Cards," Hikari smirked. "In the past, two people would engage in a duel with dragons of different levels up to five and with different attributes relating to the elements. The loser of the game would have to offer up their soul into the vase or the dragon cards would plummet the world into darkness."

"It's a nice fairy tale, but what does it have to do with this duel?" Kaiba asked annoyed.

"The Dragon Cards had to be sealed by a curse called Xing Zhen Hu, it was a curse made by a Chinese Magician who first discovered the dragon cards. After his first duel with a faithful friend that ended in misery, he dedicated his life to finding the curse. And that curse is now going to be applied to your two down cards. In game terms, it means that as long as the curse remains in effect, your two down cards are useless."

'That means I can't use either of my two crippling cards to devastate him,' Kaiba thought annoyed. 'Well no matter, I can still crush him,' he smirked. "I summon X-Head Cannon," Kaiba called out as the monster that Yaku was all too familiar with appeared on the field. (1800/1500) "X-Head Cannon, wipe out his Mirage Dragon!" Kaiba commanded as the machine monster blasted the dragon with an energy beam destroying it. P.H: (7800) "Your move," he said crossing his arms.

Hikari drew his card and grinned sinisterly, "I believe this is a card you're all too familiar with," Hikari said as he placed it into his Duel Disk. Six shining swords fell from the sky and landed around Kaiba and his monster.

"I never did like this Magic Card," Kaiba said annoyed.

"I'm sure you're also a bit familiar with this card as well," Hikari announced placing another card on the disk. A small warrior carrying a sword and a shield with a star on it appeared on the field. The most noticeable fact was that if you combined the pieces of its body together, it would look like a rocket. (1500/1300)

"Rocket Warrior?" Kaiba asked.

"Yes," Hikari said smirking. "And why not? He's a light monster, he can't be destroyed when I attack with him and whenever he attacks one of your monsters, that monster loses 500 attack points for the rest of the turn. It's truly a wonderful card." Kaiba didn't say anything and just stared at the card. "What's the matter Kaiba? Upset because you never realized the card's true potential, even when a close friend used to use it."

"That's enough," Kaiba said angrily. "Just end you turn."

"Very well," Hikari said nodding, "I have nothing else to do this turn."

"Good," Kaiba said drawing; when he looked at the card he couldn't help but smirk. He added it to his hand and took another card, "I summon Spear Dragon," he announced as the blue and white dragon appeared on the field frozen. (1900/0) "Since I can't attack with him, I'll end there." The swords around his field began to dim slightly.

Professor Hikari drew his card and he gave his own grin but also added it to his hand. "I summon another new monster, Disciple of the Forbidden Spell," he announced as a blue haired man with tattered clothes and small chest plate armor appeared on the field. He wielded two swords and wore hand armor as well as a long belt. (1700/800) "Now then, I think I'll have my Rocket Warrior attack that Spear Dragon of yours," Professor Hikari said as the Rocket Warrior went into his Rocket mode and collided with the dragon weakening it. (1400/0) "Now my Disciple, attack his weakened dragon!" The warrior ran forward and in an instant his sword was unsheathed and the dragon had been sliced in half. The dragon blew to pixels and Kaiba covered himself from the small wind that had picked up. Ka: (6600) "You're move Kaiba," he grinned.

"I'll make you regret that move," Kaiba said drawing his card. 'I can't risk summoning my Blue Eyes while those swords are on the field. I've made that mistake too many times in my past. Good thing I have another card that can be more useful in this situation.' "I sacrifice Peten to summon Kaiser Dragon," Kaiba announced as his clown vanished and a yellow dragon with wings that almost looked mechanical appeared on the field, also frozen by the effects of the swords. (2400/2200) "And since my third Peten went to the graveyard I'll remove him as well to summon my last one," he said as the final clown appeared on the field. (500/1200)

"If you're done I'll take my turn," Professor Hikari said drawing without waiting for a response. "I'll summon my Thunder Nyan Nyan," he announced as a girl floating on a cloud wearing leopard skin clothes and playing a drum set appeared on the field. (1900/900) "Since none of my monsters can really beat yours without ending it in a draw I'll end my turn."

Kaiba drew his card and looked at it for a second, "I'll set a card under the table and end my turn," he announced as the card appeared on the field and the swords faded completely. "Next turn I'll obliterate you," he said smirking.

"We'll see won't we?" Hikari asked drawing. "It's time to summon my favorite card," he announced as Thunder Nyan Nyan and the Disciple both vanished, "come forth Seiyaryu!" he announced as he played the card. The pink dragon with the emerald eyes appeared on the field roaring loudly as it formed completely. (2500/2300) "Now Seiyaryu, use your Mystic Flame to wipe out Kaiba's X-Head Cannon!" The dragon released a stream of sparkling fire that headed right for Kaiba's monster.

"I activate Card Guard," Kaiba announced as his face down trap revealed itself. "This allows me to discard one card to negate one of your moves that would destroy a monster. So I'll ditch my Fusion to keep X-Head Cannon on the field." He discarded his card and a large shield appeared on the field blocking the flames from reaching their target.

"Fine, I end my turn," Hikari growled.

"You're dragon is impressive," Kaiba said drawing, "but its worthless compared to the beast that lurks in my deck."

"No!" Hikari growled.

"And here it comes now," Kaiba announced throwing the card onto the disk. "I sacrifice X-Head Cannon and my final Peten in order to summon the mighty Blue Eyes White Dragon!" The large white dragon with the sapphire eyes appeared on the field roaring loudly. (3000/2500) "Blue Eyes White Dragon, destroy his Rocket Warrior with your White Lightning!" he announced as his blue eyes charged up a powerful lightning attack that devastated the small warrior once it was released. P.H: (6300) Kaiba smirked, "I could have destroyed your warrior with my Kaiser Dragon and then I could have taken out your dragon with my Blue Eyes, but I want to see squirm helplessly as your dragon is destroyed in my next turn while you're helpless to stop it. I'll set one card under the table, Your move."

Hikari nervously drew his card and looked at it, "I'll activate Pot of Greed," he mumbled as the large green pot appeared on the field. He made two draws and couldn't hide the grin on his face. "I knew it Kaiba. You have lost your touch."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Kaiba asked him.

"The old Kaiba would have proven his superiority right away by destroying my dragon, but you've grown soft and that will be your downfall."

"I doubt that," Kaiba glared.

"Then see for yourself," Hikari grinned as he placed a card into his disk, "I activate Book Of Moon, this will force your Dragon to go face down on guard in fear of my dragon."

"You must be out of your mind," Kaiba said as he flipped his Blue Eyes on his disk watching it disappear and be replaced by a card. "Even with my Blue Eyes on guard your wanna be dragon still can't wipe it out."

"That's why I'm activating a card from the Hero Set," Hikari retorted. "Out of all the H.E.R.O cards, this is the only one that doesn't need an E-Hero to be activated. So I'll be activating H-Heated Heart!" he announced as flames began to burn around his dragon. "This card not only gives my Seiyaryu an extra 500 attack points for the rest of the turn, (3000/2300) but it also gives it a trample effect."

"Hikari's not doing badly at all," Jukata-Sensei said impressed.

"I wouldn't count Headmaster Kaiba out of this yet though," Joretsu whispered.

"I'm not," Jukata replied, "I'm just saying Hikari's learned a few more tricks."

"Before I command my dragon to wipe out yours, I'm giving it an equip card, Ballista of Rampart Smashing," he as the dragon got a large spear type weapon that it grasped in one of its claws. "Now whenever my dragon destroys a face down monster, it'll gain 1500 attack points."

"What!" Kaiba asked stunned.

"Finally I'll summon a monster you keep in your deck, the mighty Blade Knight!" A knight in blue armor with a large sword and shield appeared on the field. (1600/1000) "When there is one or no cards in my hand, like right now, Blade Knight gains an additional 400 attack points, but you already knew that," he said grinning. (2000/1000) Go Seiyaryu, attack with Mystic Flame!"

"Not so fast," Kaiba said as his face down reversed itself. "I activate Magical Trick Mirror. This allows me to take any spell card from your graveyard and activate it as my own, so I'll use it to take your Sealing Swords of Light," Kaiba announced as the six shining swords covered Hikari's side of the field. "What do you think about that?" Kaiba asked.

"I think it's not good enough at all," Hikari smirked. Suddenly wind began to pick up from the ground near Hikari and a large tornado began to form blowing the swords into shattered pixels. "My Dust Tornado had demolished your swords, so I'll continue my attack!"

"No!" Kaiba growled as his Blue Eyes appeared on the field and roared loudly as it was blown to pieces by the flame attack. Ka: (6100)

"And since my Seiyaryu successfully destroyed your dragon, it gains an extra 1500 attack points. (4500/2300) However it loses 500 of those when I end my turn, which I'm doing now." (4000/2300) "I told you that you've grown soft," he taunted.

"Perhaps you're right," Kaiba said. "Maybe I have gotten a little rusty after not dueling in so long, but not anymore. This duel is the perfect thing to wipe the rust clean off, and I'll start with this," he drew the top card and played it immediately, "Card of Demise allows me to draw until I'm holding five cards in my hand, but at the start of my fifth standby phase I must discard my entire hand. So let's make the best use of what I've got." Kaiba made four draws and grinned when he saw them, "first off I'll activate my Mystical Space Typhoon!" he announced as a large gust of wind began to blow through the board room. The Dragon Cards that had been emitting a powerful aura were blown away and Kaiba's two cards were released. "This has allowed me to activate one of my two face down cards," Kaiba said as it reversed itself, "Go Virus Cannon!"

"Not that!" Hikari said worried.

"Virus Cannon lets me blast ten spell cards at random from your deck right to your graveyard!" The cannon launched a beam of energy at Hikari's deck forcing seven of his spell cards to slide into his graveyard. "You may have only had seven cards but that just means that you probably can't use any more of your strategies."

"The smarter move would have been to get rid of my equip card," Hikari said growling.

"Not likely," Kaiba said. "Even if I did get rid of it, I still couldn't get rid of dragon yet. And going by what I've seen of you so far, it would appear that you've reverted back into the very duelist I hired. A mean and cruel duelist that used his strategies to dominate his opponents; someone I could almost admire," Kaiba added grinning.

"You're flattery is touching, but it's not going to help you win any duels," Hikari smirked.

"No but this certainly will, Kaiser Dragon, attack his Blade Knight now!" Kaiba commanded as the dragon flew down and slashed the knight in half with its wings. P.H: (5900) "I'll set one monster on guard and end my turn," Kaiba announced as the face down monster appeared.

Professor Hikari drew his card and smirked, "I'll summon my Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke," he said as a ninja wearing wrappings all over his body, a mask, and a green vest appeared on the field; in his hand were two Kunai. (1800/1000) "Now Seiyaryu, wipe out his Kaiser Dragon!" The dragon fired a stream of fire at the other incinerating it, but not before the other dragon flapped its wings creating a whirlwind that made Seiyaryu vanish. Ka: (4500) "What happened?"

"You played right into my hand," Kaiba said grinning. "When Kaiser Dragon is destroyed I can return one monster on the field to the owner's hand."

"That still won't stop Sasuke, attack his other monster!" he commanded as the Ninja flung its Kunai into the chest of the Luster Dragon (1900/1600) destroying it. "Your move," he growled.

Kaiba drew his card and grinned when he saw it, "I reverse my face down, Flat Level Four! This allows each of us to summon a Level Four monster from our decks, so I'll choose my Y-Dragon Head," he called out as a red metallic dragon appeared on the field screeching. (1500/1600)

"Then I'll summon my second Disciple," Hikari said as another of his warriors appeared on the field. "And that activates his special ability, you see, the forbidden spell he knows is one that gives him strength whenever one of his comrades was killed in battle. So I'll give him the power to destroy any Light Monster he attacks since one of his own is already in the grave."

"That's just fine because the monster I'm summoning is a creature of darkness," Kaiba said smirking. "I sacrifice Y-Dragon Head to summon Vampire Lord," Kaiba said as his machine vanished and a vampire with a long dark cloak and blue hair appeared on the field grinning evilly showing both his fangs. (2000/1500) "Now your ninja will fall at the hands of my Vampire, attack!" Vampire Lord released a flurry of bats from its cape that all latched onto Sasuke to suck his blood before he finally fell to the ground and shattered. P.H: (5700) "And that activates his special ability. I can now cripple your deck even farther by calling out one kind of card and forcing you to discard it from your deck. And since I know you don't have any spells left and since your traps will probably mean nothing to me, I'll call out monster."

Professor Hikari took a card from his deck and slid it into the graveyard, "I choose Royal Knight."

"Good, I end my turn," Kaiba grinned.

Professor Hikari drew and couldn't hold back the smirk, "I'll summon Freed the Brave Wanderer," he called out as a blonde haired warrior with heavy armor, and a long cape appeared on the field. (1700/1200) "Now I'll activate his special ability by removing Rocket Warrior and Royal Knight to allow him to destroy one monster on the field." The spirits of Rocket Warrior and Royal Knight appeared on the field and vanished into the sword Freed had just unsheathed. "Go and destroy Vampire Lord!" Freed ran forward and in a blinding flash of light, had vanquished the vampire on Kaiba's side of the field. "And since that was a special ability, I can still attack with my two monsters, so go and attack him directly!" The two warriors ran forward and slashed Kaiba across the chest with their two swords causing him to be pushed backwards and forced him to grab his chest. Ka: (1100) "That's enough damage for one turn, wouldn't you agree?"

Kaiba drew his card and Hikari stared in horror as a coffin began to rise from the office floor. Vampire Lord stepped out of the coffin as it vanished, smirking evilly. (2000/1500) "You should know that you can't kill a vampire so easily," Kaiba smirked. "Now, its time for him to get his revenge, Vampire Lord, destroy Freed!" Instead of sending his bats to destroy freed, Vampire Lord flew over to him and sucked the blood out of Freed himself, causing him to look very satisfied while Freed looked very dead. P.H: (5400) "I choose monster again," Kaiba smirked.

"And I choose Royal Knight again," Hikari said dropping it into the graveyard.

"Finally, I'll set one monster on guard and end my turn," Kaiba said grinning.

"I won't lose to you," Hikari said drawing. "I summon my last Disciple," Hikari called out as the newest disciple appeared on the field next to the other. (1700/800) "And this time it'll learn how to wipe out Dark Creatures. I'd worry about Vampire Lord returning next turn, but you won't survive that long," he grinned.

"Could Hikari really win?" Joretsu asked.

"Not a chance this round," Jukata-Sensei said. "He still has to get past Kaiba's other monster."

"Go Disciple, destroy that vampire!" The warrior's sword began to glow with a holy light and with one slash, the vampire was once again destroyed. "Now, I'll finish off your face down monster, Disciple, attack the face down monster!"

Kaiba grinned evilly as the warrior rushed forward and Kaiba's Wall of Illusion was revealed. (1000/1850) "Have you forgotten what I set at the very beginning of our duel?" Kaiba asked.

"No…" Hikari said in horror as he saw that Kaiba still had a face down card. "Not that!"

"Go Crush Card Virus!" he declared as his trap reversed itself and a deadly virus flowed through Wall of Illusion. "All I have to do is tribute this monster and the virus will spread crushing every monster in your deck with 1500 attack points or more for three whole turns, and there's nothing you can do to stop it!" His monster shattered and a cloud of viruses' spread through the air suffocating the two warriors on the field destroying them. "Don't forget, you have to discard the last card in your hand as well, and since there's only one card it can be, I can safely say that your Seiyaryu finally got what was coming to it for defeating my Blue Eyes!"

Hikari growled as he discarded Seiyaryu from his hand, 'I have no cards in my hand or on the field. Kaiba will get his Vampire Lord back next turn along with another monster if he has one, if I'm lucky, I might survive.' He looked up at Kaiba glaring, "I end my turn."

Kaiba drew and watched his Vampire once again reappear on the field. (2000/1500) "If you were looking for mercy, forget it," he said smirking. "This duel ends here, I summon Lord of Dragons!" he announced as his spellcaster with the brown robes and long cape appeared on the field. (1200/1100) "And I drew just the card I needed to finish you off too, I activate the Flute of Summoning Dragon, this allows me to summon two dragons from my hand to the field, but I can only summon one and quite frankly, one is all I need, so come on out Luster Dragon #2!" A massive green dragon with long wings appeared on the field glaring down at Hikari. (2400/1400)

"I can't believe it!" Hikari yelled frustrated.

"You better get used to it Hikari, I'll always be better than you. Luster Dragon, Vampire Lord, and Lord of Dragons, attack the player directly!" he commanded them all. The Vampire released its bats which began sucking Professor Hikari's blood out as the Lord of Dragons pulled out a second flute and blew through it, causing sound waves that sounded like that of a dragon to smash into Hikari. Finally the dragon released a blast of fire from its large mouth that engulfed Hikari completely, forcing him to his knees. P.H: (0) The holograms vanished and Kaiba stood smirking victoriously.

Professor Hikari looked up at Kaiba and finally bowed his head, "I…I concede defeat. I'll go pack my things."

The table and chairs began to rise up from the office floor as Kaiba began to sit down, "You'll be taking a seat and you'll contribute to this conversation."

"But I thought I was fired," Hikari said standing up.

"You've obviously learned what you needed too by your defeats from the students, and by dueling me I've tamed you…for now anyway. We'll see how you progress and if I like how you're doing, you can stay." Hikari didn't say anything and just sat down with the others. "As I recall, we were bringing discussing Ritsuzen."

'He's acting like he didn't just have a duel in the middle of a board meeting,' Joretsu said sitting down. 'That's almost kind of creepy.' He cleared his throat, "That boy is nothing but trouble. I don't know why he was admitted to begin with."

"Because unfortunately, he's a good duelist," Kaiba said. "And his family is rich, there's nothing we can do about it," he paused letting the others know more was coming, "unless we can prove that he's trouble. "Here's the idea, the project obviously failed, but what if we changed it?"

"Are you saying _another _tournament?" Kyusai-Sensei asked.

"I am, but this will be different and not as long. If you are interested, here are the details…"

* * *

"Go Mage Power!" Kokuro cried out as his Black Magician of Chaos's attack power went up to 3300. "Next I'll place my last four cards in my hand under the table." Kokuro watched as his Magician's power sky rocketed. (5300/5100)

"Unfortunately for you, my Compulsory Evacuation Device sends your magician back to your hand," Kazuki said as it flipped up, "and since it's leaving the field, it gets removed from play."

"I have to end," Kokuro said growling.

"I draw and activate Black Luster Ritual, now I sacrifice Demise from my hand, allowing Samsara to recycle him into my deck, and I bring out Black Luster Soldier!" Kazuki announced as his soldier came onto the field. (3000/2500) "Attack the player!" he announced. The warrior ran towards Kokuro with amazing speed and slashed him across the chest. Ko: (0) The holograms vanished and Kokuro stood up looking upset and happy at the same time. "Good game," Kazuki said to him.

"Thanks, it was," Kokuro said as he walked over and shook hands. "And I almost won too."

"Yes you did," he smiled. Kazuki turned to Jordan and smirked, "So, did you learn anything?"

"Other than the fact that you enjoy humiliating people of lower ranks?" Jordan asked. Kazuki glared at him and he drew back in fear, "no, I didn't," he said meakly.

Kazuki sighed and looked at Kokuro, "Tell me, was that duel enjoyable?"

"Well, it was tough," Kokuro admitted.

"But did you have a good time?" he asked again.

Kokuro thought for a moment and then smiled, "come to think of it…yeah. I mean, the losing part sucked, but whenever we duel, I get this huge amount of excitement flowing through me, as if every move we make is going to destroy our duel disks from the energy we're releasing……….that would suck cause I really like this Duel Disk."

"So…you're supposed to feel energized?" Jordan asked.

"You're supposed to enjoy dueling, and not fear whether or not you win or lose. If you fear failure, you'll be more likely to lose."

"It's better to expect failure and not be disappointed when you lose though," Jordan said.

Kazuki turned to Kokuro again, "Did you think you were going to lose?" he asked.

"Not really," Kokuro said sheepishly. "I know you're strong, but I know that one day I'll beat you, didn't I say that just the other day?"

"You did," Kazuki said smiling before turning to Jordan. "Treat every duel as if you can win, and enjoy it while fighting, and even if you lose, if your opponent was playing only to win, you'll come out ahead for just enjoying it. The good thing about dueling Kokuro is we both try our best, but also not for a moment forgetting to enjoy the duel."

"I suppose that's true," Kokuro said smiling.

"I truly believe if everyone dueled like that, the world of dueling would truly be a great thing." Kazuki turned around and headed out, "hate to leave you all, but I have things to do now."

"Ok, see you later," Kokuro said waving. "Man I'm beat," he said looking at the others. "Who's up for dinner?"

"You better be careful Kokuro," Sonomi said. "Mid terms are coming up, you need to get cracking if you want to ace these and keep that promise."

"Right," Kokuro said smiling. "I'll get cracking…after dinner."


	35. New Arrival! Denkiteki Appears!

Sdrive: Disclaimer goes here.

A/N: Sorry for the two week hiatus, I was busy and forgot to update ehehehe.

* * *

A week had passed and finals were just around the corner. Mia, wearing a t-shirt and shorts, was walking into her room with Yaku, also in a tee but wearing sweatpants, tagging along next to her. When she got in she was surprised to see Sonomi and Kokuro sitting next to each other comparing notes and going over book work. Once Yaku got in he noticed something about Sonomi and it made him rather startled, "You wear glasses?" he asked her.

Sonomi looked up momentarily, long enough to nod, and then looked back down and started conversing with Kokuro again. Mia smiled and turned to Yaku, "Yeah, but only when big exams are coming up," she responded. "It makes her think she can see clearer and in turn will make her do better. She only puts them on while studying and only during mid terms and finals does she wear them during the test."

"Hardcore studying huh?" he asked her.

"You bet," Mia said smiling.

"Thanks again for the work out," Yaku said. "Since we started jogging together, I feel like I'm in more shape than I was before."

"No problem," Mia said as they gave each other a quick hug, "again tomorrow?"

"You bet," Yaku said smiling. He left and couldn't help but give off a small sigh of happiness as he headed off down the hall. Mia couldn't help but giggle and closed the door as she turned to the others.

"So, what do you want for dinner?" she asked.

"Nothing," they both answered simultaneously.

"You guys have to eat," she said looking at them with a surprised look on her face.

"We will later," Kokuro said. "So, let me get this straight, Skill Drain stops effects that happen on the field, but won't negate my Hane Kuriboh because its effect activates in the Graveyard right?"

"That's right," Sonomi nodded. "However, if Necrovalley was also on the field, your Hane Kuriboh's effect wouldn't work."

"So many rules for those cards," Kokuro said sighing. "But even if Necrovalley is on the field, I could still remove monsters from play to summon something right?"

"You mean like your Chaos Sorcerer?"

"Exactly."

Sonomi nodded, "Necrovalley won't negate the requirements it needs to be summoned. However Skill Drain will still negate its ability to remove things from play."

"If Skill Drain is even on the field…"

"Don't stay up too late you two," Mia said looking over Kokuro's shoulder. They both kind of nodded and Mia sighed before going into the bathroom to shower and change.

* * *

Kazuki sat on a lawn chair by the Helicopter pad near the docks waiting for the chopper that would bring Denkiteki. He heard a sound come from the door that lead to the stairs and turned to see Fuuten walking over to him.

"How did you know I would be here?" Kazuki asked stunned. "No one is supposed to know where I am."

"I placed a tracker in your head years ago when you fell off your bike and your skull was cracked open. I've been spying on you since then."

"Except that accident never happened, you just made it up now," Kazuki said glaring.

"Yeah," he said grabbing a spare chair and sitting down. "Actually, a couple Ra Girls saw you come down this way and I searched from there. Now my only question is why are you here?"

"I'm waiting for someone," Kazuki said simply.

"So Elda's coming early this year," Fuuten asked smirking.

"What are you talking about!" Kazuki practically screamed.

"Elda Ishihaka," Fuuten said trying it out, "I admit, it almost has a ring to it."

"What gave you that idea?" Kazuki asked.

"It's kind of obvious," Fuuten said. "Just because we're not in the same grade, doesn't mean I haven't been here the same amount of time as you. We started the same year but I got held back due to failing my final. I was never one for written tests anyway."

"You're not one for anything that doesn't have to do with Setsuna," Kazuki smirked back.

"Excuse me," Fuuten said getting red.

"You didn't fail that test for any other reason than it gave you an extra year at the academy."

"If you remember I didn't meet Setsuna until the third quarter," Fuuten reminded him. "She was out because her mother was really sick."

"And suddenly your grades dropped after meeting her, wonder if there's a coincidence?"

"Highly unlikely," Fuuten said in a mock tone.

"I'm so sure," Kazuki said chuckling.

"What about you?" Fuuten asked. "You met Elda while she was helping Yaku, and ever since she's all you think about."

"Not true," Kazuki said defending himself. "I think about lots of things."

"You two got together and practically ganged up on Pegasus to create Harpie Queen and make it limited. If that doesn't say 'engagement ring' I don't know what does."

"Creating a Duel Monsters card _does not_ make anyone committed," Kazuki retorted.

"I'm so sure," Fuuten said rolling his eyes.

Kazuki cleared his throat, "besides, she's not who I'm waiting for."

"Who then?" Fuuten asked.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that," Kazuki said getting serious. "It's official business."

"If it was you wouldn't have made it so easy to find yourself," Fuuten said smirking.

"I got careless," Kazuki said sighing.

"Whatever," Fuuten said getting up. "I'm bored anyway. Wanna have a duel?"

"You're actually asking me for a duel?" Kazuki asked surprised.

"I'm bored, I can't help it," Fuuten said.

"I don't have my Duel Disk, it would have to be tabletop," he said.

"That's fine," Fuuten said smiling. They were pulling out their decks when they heard the distinct sound of a Helicopter in the distance.

"Better forget that duel," Kazuki said. "You and your Kuriboh's would make it last too long and our cards would just be blown away. Besides, I have to ask you to leave now."

Fuuten sighed, "Yeah sure, I suppose. Catch you later."

"See ya," Kazuki said as Fuuten went towards the door but he stopped. "You know," Kazuki turned to see Fuuten. "You can't have Elda and go Pro, your careers wouldn't allow it," he turned to Kazuki. "You should nominate Yaku. He's been your friend since you started and he's an excellent duelist, just a tad clumsy at times. Just a suggestion."

Kazuki was silent before muttering, "Thanks," but Fuuten was already walking down the steps.

* * *

An hour later Kazuki and a guest were admitted into Kaiba's office, "Glad to see you made it in one piece, Denkiteki," Kaiba said once the boy entered the office. Unlike Kazuki's white and blue outfit, this boy was wearing a trench coat with dark silver on it, almost titanium colored. He was tall and his hair was dark blue, his teal eyes looked directly at Kaiba.

"It was troublesome with such short notice, but I trust you'll give me the best private tutor you can afford," Denkiteki said smirking.

"I've called in the one person from the Fourth Dorm that you would find suitable," Kaiba smirked.

"You mean the only person from the Fourth Dorm," he said smirking.

"You know what happened, you're lucky we could even get him. Had he not…"

"Yes, yes, I understand," Denkiteki said. "Now then, I want to see the girl I'll be working with," he said.

"She's still a bit under the weather," Kazuki informed him. "Besides, she's studying for midterms."

"Shouldn't you be?" he asked Kazuki.

"I'll be fine. I didn't get to be number one without being intelligent."

"True enough," Denkiteki said smirking. "I guess that only leaves one thing, I want to meet that Samé kid."

"You've heard about Kokuro?" Kaiba asked surprised.

"He's the entire buzz on East Island. The whole beating Hikari, and being a Ra in only the first year. I want to see if he ranks as well as I've heard."

"I'm not sure if making yourself known to him is best," Kaiba said.

"Don't worry. He won't even be able to tell me apart from any other student," Denkiteki said smirking. His PDA number please?"

* * *

The next morning Kokuro was up bright and early, dressed and ready to face off against the mysterious student whom had messaged him during the previous night. "Don't forget you have to study," Sonomi said to him.

"I will," he said equipping his deck box to his belt and throwing on his Duel Disk. "But remember, mid terms are tomorrow, and a practice duel is wise. Speaking of which, are you coming?"

"The message said to come alone didn't it?" Sonomi asked.

"Yeah, but I want my friends there, regardless of what some stupid message said," Kokuro smiled.

"I'll come, but do you really think we should wake up Mia?" she asked.

Kokuro got an insane look on his face and he went over to Mia's bed. He pulled the curtain aside and stared at her hugging her Kuriboh plushy with a smile on her face. He rubbed her shoulders and then shouted as loud as he could, "WAKE UP!!!" To his utter surprise, she didn't budge. "How's that possible?" he asked Sonomi looking at her.

"Big sleeper?" she guessed.

"Must be," Kokuro said rubbing her more but not getting any response. He finally resorted to shaking her but in the end it was pointless. He sighed, got up and they left.

Mia opened her eyes and giggled talking to her Kuriboh plushy. "I would have loved to go watch, but I'm not letting him think he can wake me up." She then rolled over and decided to go back to sleep.

Kokuro and Sonomi walked into the empty Obelisk Blue arena and looked around but couldn't find anyone. "And I thought we were going to be late," Kokuro said as he hopped up onto the arena. He heard the doors on the opposite side of the arena open up and he looked out to see his opponent, Denkiteki wearing an Obelisk Blue uniform, come out and got into the arena. He smirked at Kokuro until he noticed Sonomi and his expression instantly changed.

"I told you to come alone," he said angrily.

"Yeah but I like to have my friends to back me up," Kokuro said taking out his deck and shuffling.

"No, I want her out," Denkiteki insisted.

"Sorry pal but I'm not budging," Sonomi said staring at him.

Denkiteki seemed to be thinking hard but in reality the small earpiece he was wearing had Kazuki's voice coming through telling him that getting Sonomi to budge would be an impossible feat. "Those two are tighter than glue; you don't stand a chance getting her out."

Denkiteki glared at her but reluctantly agreed to let her stay. He didn't even want Kazuki watching, but Kaiba insisted that he at least spy. He pulled out his deck and inserted it into his own Duel Disk causing it to unfold. Kokuro followed suite and they both yelled out, "Time to duel!"

"The first move will be mine," Denkiteki said drawing.

"Isn't it more polite to let the challenged go first?" Kokuro asked.

"But I won't learn what I need too by letting you begin," Denkiteki said as he drew his sixth card. "I'll start with a monster on guard," he said as the face down horizontal card appeared. "I'll then compliment it with two under the table," he said as the other two cards appeared. "I'll finish up by playing Different Dimension Capsule," he said by activating the spell card. A large blue capsule appeared on the field and a brown card appeared above it and slowly entered it before the capsule vanished into the ground.

"And that does…" Kokuro said letting it hang.

"In two turns that card that I just took from my deck goes to my hand," he replied. "Your move."

"Good," Kokuro said drawing his sixth card. 'I haven't had a hand like this in a while,' Kokuro mused looking over the cards. "I summon Fire Princess," Kokuro announced as the red robed girl appeared on the field with her silver hair going down her back and the brown staff in her hands. (1300/1500) "Go Fire Princess, attack his face down monster!" Fire Princess' orb on her staff began to glow and a stream of scolding fire burst from it incinerating the flying squirrel that appeared.

"Thank you," Denkiteki said as his Life Points rose. De: (9000) "By destroying my Nimble Momonga you've given me 1000 life points and on top of that you've allowed me to set two more face down," he said smirking as two more horizontal cards appeared.

Kokuro looked at his hand and sighed, 'bad thing about this hand is I only have one spell card.' He looked up at Denkiteki, "I end my turn."

"Then allow me to start mine," Denkiteki said drawing his newest card. "I activate Vengeful Bog Spirit," Denkiteki announced as the spell appeared and a thick fog began to appear below everyone's feet. "In case you don't know, this gives all monsters summoning sickness. Finally I'll set another monster on guard and call it a turn," he announced as yet another horizontal card appeared.

'What is up with this kid and his face down monsters?' Kokuro asked himself. 'His moves are almost as mysterious as him. Come to think of it, he hasn't even told me his name.' Kokuro looked over to him and said, "Do I get to know your name or are you going to keep that as big a secret as your mystery monsters?"

"My name isn't really important is it?" he asked.

Kokuro narrowed his eyes, "I don't like your attitude. I would like to know your name."

"Are you getting scared that you'll lose the duel?" Denkiteki asked smirking. "My face down strategies seem to have you in a bad move. Don't worry; they won't be face down for much longer."

"I'm not scared," Kokuro said.

"Stop with the mind games," Sonomi said, though Kokuro couldn't see her due to the fog. "No one's scared of you."

"And no one's scared of you," Denkiteki said smirking. "I'll bet you can't even see us up here." Out of the fog Sonomi came up from behind Kokuro. "Get out of the arena!" he shouted.

She kept walking past him and walked off to the side in the center, "Chill out," she said. "I just want to watch and not be in the audience seats."

"You're getting to be a bother. Keep interfering and I'll throw you out."

"HA!" she laughed out loud. "Good luck doing that," she said smirking at him. "I'll have you know that I'm Sonomi Hinote, and if you want to throw me out you'll have to duel me first. And since that would make you have to forfeit the duel against Kokuro, you're stuck with me."

'I didn't realize she was _the _Sonomi,' Denkiteki thought a little surprised, though his expression didn't change. He glanced over at Kokuro who was still glaring. "My name…is Denkiteki," he finally said.

Kokuro looked a little shocked and then smiled, "now was that so hard?" he asked.

"So you've never heard of me?" he asked.

"Should I have?" Kokuro asked.

"Probably not," he said looking over at Sonomi, "have you?" She shook her head and he grinned, "Fine, now you know my name. Let's get on with this."

"Agreed," Kokuro said drawing. "I summon Ebon Magician Curran," he announced as the small girl in the black skirt with the bunny ears appeared holding a whip. (1200/0) "Fire Princess, attack the face down monster that he set last turn!" Fire Princess released a stream of fire that bounced off a small green scaled lizard that had an insane grin on its face. The monster jumped out of the way and threw its axe at Fire Princess causing her to fall backwards. Ko: (7700)

"You've revealed my Toon Alligator," Denkiteki said as he flipped the card on his disk.

"Toon Alligator?" Sonomi asked. "No one plays that pathetic card. Its defense isn't even all that good."

"Compared to other monsters; you're right," Denkiteki said. "But last I checked I built this deck and you didn't."

"And I'm sure glad I didn't," she said mocking him.

"You'll regret those words soon enough," he said smirking. "I assume you're done," he looked at Kokuro who nodded. He drew his card and the Different Dimension Capsule appeared out of the fog and he took the card that he had put in his pocket and put it in his hand. "Ready to see what I took from my deck?" he asked.

"Let's see it," Kokuro said.

"I activate the Spell Card, Toon Index," he said playing the card.

"T-toon Index," Sonomi said taking a step back.

"This card allows me to take any card with the word Toon in its name and add it to my hand. So I think I'll take Toon World from my deck."

"Hold on a second!" Sonomi said interjecting. "You're cheating!"

"And how am I doing that?" Denkiteki asked.

"Those cards _have _to be counterfeited, there's no way any normal duelist has them."

"And why not?" he asked.

"If you're playing what I think you are, the Toon World deck is a series of special cards that only Pegasus J. Crawford himself owned. He never would have released those cards to the public."

"You're right, he didn't" Denkiteki said. "However, he had a great sadness in his heart, and in turn ended up giving me three complete sets of the Toon Cards he had created."

"You're lying!" Sonomi yelled. "He wouldn't do that!"

"And why not?" Denkiteki asked.

"Because I read about him in class," Sonomi glared. "It didn't go into great detail about his deck, but it did mention that his deck contained the Toon World cards that originally were too strong for public use. After Duelist Kingdom and during the Battle City tournament, when Master Kaiba was calling the shots, they're effects were watered down, making them much weaker than they used to be. However even then Pegasus didn't release them, and it wasn't because they were still too powerful. It was because he loved them so much. He said that even though most of his cards were created having to do with something about Egypt, the Toon World Cards were strictly his creation."

"So you're saying that a man who created his favorite cards wouldn't want to share them with anyone?" Denkiteki asked. "You talk of him as if he's a greedy old timer."

"No, but I couldn't see him giving you cards like these, especially three whole sets."

"If you knew the story, you wouldn't be so quick to judge that," Denkiteki said smirking. "Perhaps if Kokuro proves himself, I'll tell him the story."

"He doesn't have to duel fake cards," Sonomi said glaring.

"Its fine," Kokuro said staring at Denkiteki.

"What are you saying?" Sonomi asked him.

"Fake or not, I'm willing to take this challenge," Kokuro said looking over at her. "Besides, if they're fake how is his Duel Disk registering them?" Sonomi was about to interject but she stopped, he had a good point. "You said you wanted to duel me right?" Kokuro asked turning to Denkiteki. "Then how come you're still standing there chatting?"

Denkiteki raised his eyebrows before smirking, "Big words. But if that's how you want to go about things, so be it. I'll now activate Toon World!" he announced as he slid the card into the disk. Suddenly a green book appeared on Denkiteki's side of the field. It opened up revealing a dark and run down town in the form of a pop up. De: (8000) "Toon World costs me 1000 Life Points to activate, but its well worth it. Now I'll summon my Toon Gemini Elf!" Two Chibi Gemini Elves appeared on Denkiteki's side of the field. They were giggling and laughing as they looked at Kokuro, but suddenly looked nauseous and fell to their knees. (1900/900) "My Vengeful Bog Spirit keeps them from attacking this turn, not that they could have attacked this turn anyway."

"And what does that mean?" Kokuro asked.

"There is only one Toon Monster that can attack the turn it's summoned, all the rest have to wait one full turn. That's the entire reason I added Vengeful Bog Spirit to my deck. Since they can't attack anyway, how could it possibly hurt them?"

Sonomi glanced over at Denkiteki, 'he's got a point,' she thought. 'And I don't recall those Nimble Momonga's being part of a Toon Deck either. I hate to admit it, but he seems to be able to manipulate the Toon cards better than even Pegasus could have.'

"Next, since a few of the Toon Monster's can be special summoned, I'll special Summon Toon Mermaid on guard," he announced as a cute girl in cartoon oyster shell appeared on the field. (1400/1500) "Since I can't attack, I'm ending my turn," Denkiteki said folding his arms. "Let's see what you can do."

"Plenty," Kokuro said drawing. "First up, my Curran's special ability activates. Since you have five monsters on the field, Curran will take out 1500 of your Life Points," he said pointing at Denkiteki. Curran jumped up and whipped Denkiteki hard across the chest causing him to flinch and move back. De: (6500)

"Impressive," Denkiteki admitted.

"You're the one that summoned all those monsters," Kokuro pointed out. Denkiteki shrugged and Kokuro took the card he drew and put it on his disk, "I summon Skilled Black Magician," he announced as the black robed magician appeared on the field. (1900/1700) "Next I'll have Fire Princess and Curran attack the two Nimble Momongas." Curran whipped one of the flying squirrels as Fire Princess incinerated the other.

"And thank you for the Life Point boost," Denkiteki said grinning. De: (8500)

"I might as well get them out of the way now," Kokuro said. "It's your move."

"You're going to find that that was a huge mistake," Denkiteki said drawing his card. "I summon Toon Goblin Attack Force," he announced as a chibified version of the Goblin Attack Force appeared on the field. (2300/0) "Now I'll switch Toon Mermaid into attack mode," he said as the shell the mermaid was hiding in opened up. "I pay 500 Life Points to have her attack your Curran," he announced. De: (8000) She produced an arrow which she fired at the smaller magician destroying her. Ko: (7500) "Next, since you have no Toon Monsters on your side of the field, I'll attack you directly with Toon Gemini Elf!"

The two elves jumped up and kicked Kokuro in the back causing him to fall to his knees. Ko: (5600) He slowly stood up as they reached down and took the Knight's Title in his hand and pushed it into his Graveyard. "What just happened?" he asked.

"When they inflict battle damage on you, they force you to discard one card at random from your hand," Denkiteki smirked as they returned to his side of the field. "That's all for this round."

Kokuro drew his card and looked at it before smiling at Sonomi, "Get ready Sonomi, I'm about to destroy every one of those Toons…I hope."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Denkiteki asked him.

"With Mystical Space Typhoon, which I use to wipe out Toon World!" A large burst of wind and electricity came from Kokuro's side of the field which burned the Toon World book. The three toons, minus Toon Alligator, began to vanish in sparkles of light until the book was burned completely and they vanished.

"That was such a Zatch Bell moment," Denkiteki said ashamed of being apart of this chapter.

"I agree," Kokuro said a little saddened by the fact that there were no huge explosions. "In any case," he began after instantly recovering from the fourth wall breakage, "My Skilled Black Magician gains a counter due to MST being activated. Now I'll set one monster on guard and then have Skilled Black wipe out Toon Alligator." A horizontal card appeared and Skilled Black Magician fired a black beam of magic at the small alligator which was destroyed instantly. "Now Fire Princess, attack him directly!" Fire Princess twirled her staff and sent a stream of fire straight for Denkiteki.

"Reverse Sleepy Sheep," he called out as the four sheep appeared on the field. One of them was destroyed leaving three left on the field.

Kokuro sighed, "Skilled Black gains another counter and that ends my turn." 'At least I got those other Toon Monsters out of the way,' he thought.

Denkiteki drew his card and played it, "Pot of Greed, hopefully you know what it does." He drew twice and looked at them. "I'll set one card under the table and end."

"Perfect," Kokuro said and drew his card. "I'll summon Spear Dragon to start things off," he announced as his blue and white dragon appeared on the field. (1900/0) "Skilled Black, attack a sheep."

"Reverse Holy Barrier Mirror Force," Denkiteki announced.

"Mirror Force!" Sonomi said stunned. Skilled Black Magician's attack bounced off the multicolored barrier and flew backwards destroying itself, Fire Princess, and Spear Dragon.

Kokuro growled and waved his hand. "Then it's my draw," Denkiteki said pulling a card. "And it's another Toon Index, which I activate to search for Toon World which I activate immediately!" Sonomi growled as another pop up book appeared on Denkiteki's side of the field. "Still sour over the fact I have the Toon cards?" he asked.

"I still say they're fake," Sonomi growled.

"You can say whatever you want that will make you feel better," Denkiteki said blowing her off. "Just because you say something, it doesn't mean it's true."

"Now, since my next monster is going to be a Special Summon, I can offer up two of my Sheep Tokens, and I will," he announced as two of the sheep vanished. "And now I summon my strongest Toon Monster, Go Blue Eyes Toon Dragon!" he called out.

"Blue Eyes!" Sonomi said shocked.

"Toon Dragon!" Kokuro finished.

The chibi Blue Eyes White Dragon came out of the pop up book and started snickering at Kokuro. It then fell ill and fell to the ground. "These Toons are quite the pranksters," Denkiteki said watching it rise up and laughing as it faked being sick. "Unfortunately, it can't show off its true power this turn, so I'll end."

"It won't be showing off its true power at all," Kokuro said drawing. He grinned when he saw his card, "I reverse my Old Vindictive Magician," he called out as his old hunchbacked magician appeared. "Destroy Blue Eyes Toon Dragon!" The old magician vanished until it was right in back of the Toon Dragon. It fired a blast of green magic destroying the toon dragon.

"My Blue Eyes Toon," Denkiteki said in shock. "Taken out so easily."

"Now I sacrifice my Old Magician to summon this," he announced as his old mage vanished and a female magician in a sky blue uniform appeared on the field twirling and giving off a peace sign. "Black Magician Girl!" (2000/1700)

"So it's true," Denkiteki said amazed. "You wield the Black Magician Girl."

"Yes, but she can't attack this turn due to your spell card, so I'll end."

Denkiteki drew his card and couldn't hold back the smile, "this is truly interesting. Remember when I said there was one Toon that wasn't held back by the usual Toon Weakness of not being able to attack when it was summoned."

"Yeah," Kokuro said nodding. "However I'm sure it still won't be able to attack due to Bog Spirit."

"True, but that doesn't stop me from summoning her," he grinned. "As a Special Summon, I sacrifice my last sheep token, and I summon this!" Suddenly, a female magician with the same outfit as the Black Magician Girl appeared, but she was much smaller and cuter.

"What in the world," Kokuro said amazed.

"It can't be," Sonomi gasped.

"I summon Toon Black Magician Girl!" he called out. (2000/1700)

"Toon…Black Magician Girl?" Kokuro said slowly.

'He's going to blow a fuse,' Sonomi thought. 'I can tell.'

"That is so cool!" he said causing Sonomi go wide eyed. "She's so cute! I wish I could run over there and give her a big hug!"

Denkiteki was a little surprised himself, 'he really is a good duelist. He's not even phased that his Black Magician Girl won't be able to defeat mine.' Denkiteki gave a faint smile. 'I'm glad I was wrong about him Kazuki,' he thought to himself. He cleared his throat and pointed to his Vengeful Bog Spirit, "This is the only thing stopping me now. I end my turn."

Kokuro nodded and drew his card, "Sorry Toon Black Magician Girl, but you can't beat the real deal. I activate Riryoku!"

'A rare card,' Denkiteki mused. "I activate Spell Shield Type 8," he announced as a machine appeared creating a barrier around Toon Black Magician Girl. "Sorry, but you're not using that card."

"Fine," Kokuro grumbled. "I end my turn."

"My move," Denkiteki said drawing. "I activate Mage Power!" he announced as Toon Black Magician Girl began to glow golden. (3500/3200) "Toon Black Magician Girl, attack the player!" The Toon Magician Girl twirled her staff and then fired a blast of pink magic at Kokuro causing him to fall backwards. Black Magician Girl turned to look at Kokuro worriedly. Ko: (2100) "My turn is over."

Kokuro drew a card, and set it, "I set on card under the table and end."

Denkiteki drew and played it immediately, "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon. If I've learned anything in my years of dueling, it's to never underestimate my opponent and they're face down's, no matter how good I have it in a duel."

Kokuro watched in horror as his Shadow Spell was blown to pieces. "No way," Kokuro gasped.

"I guess you can say this is payback for destroying Toon World," Denkiteki said smirking. "Burning Magic Attack!" he called out. Toon Black Magician Girl winked at Kokuro before firing another beam of pink energy at Kokuro. Ko: (0) She began giggling before she and her normal counterpart vanished.

Sonomi looked over at Kokuro, 'he lost,' she thought amazed. She turned to Denkiteki, "I'm not an expert on the Toon Cards," she began. "But I'm pretty sure that that's not the original Toon Deck."

"Of course it's not," Denkiteki said looking over at her. "Pegasus had a powerful deck, even when it was changed. However he obsessed too much on having his deck be strictly Toon related. Had he just added in other powerful cards to aid them, he could have done much better." Denkiteki glanced over at Kokuro, "though you lost, I sense infinite potential in you. It was an honor to finally duel you. Now if you excuse me, I must be going." He walked out of the arena as Kokuro stood up and walked over to Sonomi.

"Well, I'll say one thing," he said. "I'm impressed."

"I'm not," Sonomi said glaring. "I still think those cards are fake."

"Sonomi, if they were fake the Duel Disks…"

"He must have done something," Sonomi insisted. "Remember the Battle City Tournament?" she asked.

"You're referring to the fake Winged Dragon of Ra aren't you," he asked.

"Exactly, there was a fake card being used then, why not now?"

"But that's why Master Kaiba upgraded the Duel Disks, to stop things like that from happening. Take Kahou's Time Deck for instance. Just because they're rare, doesn't mean they aren't real."

"You're probably right," Sonomi said sighing. "Well, you go have breakfast, I'm going to go to the library and study a bit."

"I'll come with you," he said.

"No, it's fine. I just need to be alone for a bit," she said.

He looked worriedly at her before sighing, "Alright," he said. "Thanks for being here for me."

"Of course," she said smiling. Kokuro left to go back to the dorm and she exited as well.

Denkiteki met up with Kazuki in the hidden viewing room and gave him back the ear piece. "She may be the Legend of this school, but I don't like the way she doesn't listen."

"You'll have to get used to it," Kazuki said putting it back in its case and returning it to its spot in the room. "We all did," he chuckled.

"Still," he said. "It seems you were right about Kokuro, though I didn't really get as much of a challenge as you might have."

"You're Vengeful Bog Spirit truly limited him," Kazuki said.

"I know," Denkiteki said. "I took that into consideration. Had I not pulled that so early, I would have had a much harder time winning. However, I did pull it and I didn't have a harder time winning."

"Still, he's a good duelist," Kazuki said walking back over to Denkiteki.

"Sure enough," he said giving a small grin. "I look forward to seeing him progress."

"As do I," Kazuki said nodding. "Now come on, we have to go see Master Kaiba."

* * *

It was an hour after the duel and Sonomi had eight different web pages up and a few magazines hanging around the computer she was at. The only thing they had in common was that they were all about Pegasus. 'I've checked every article we have here in the academy, and I've searched every search engine I know of, and I still can't find anything about Pegasus giving up his Toon Deck.' She was half smiling and half agitated. Not finding anything meant she was right and that they were counterfeit cards, but it also meant that Kokuro lost to fakes.

She closed one of the web pages and was searching another search engine when something caught her eyes. 'Pegasus makes a surprise visit to East School,' the headline read. She opened it up and read all the info she could. Apparently Pegasus made a visit to one of the Duelist Academy schools, the reason wasn't well known. According the article he went to discuss business with the chancellor there. Nothing else was all that interesting.

'His East School visit,' she thought typing it into a separate search engine, 'it seems harmless enough…but I have a strange feeling about it.' She searched a few of the articles but she came up with nothing. Finally she clicked on one and read a short interview that Pegasus gave a reporter after his trip.

"_I must say, Kaiba-boy did a great job in opening up a chain of academies for all the young boys and girls of the world to join in order for them to learn the fun of dueling. I must say that I never in all my dreams imagined Duel Monsters would take such a big turn for the better. There are now Pro Leagues where talented Duelists face off to become world champions, where they earn their titles through their creativity and their sweat. It's much different than the tournaments I used to host, and I'm sure Yugi-boy would be a bit jealous of some of these championships. I've heard that he plans on making an appearance in one some day, but of course, nothing is official yet. My greatest joy about these academies is that it means that perhaps one day, there will be a duelist clever enough to even use my favorite cards. After all, anything is possible."_

It went on a bit longer but Sonomi was hooked on that those last two lines. 'Maybe he did give Denkiteki those cards,' she thought. 'But that's not possible; as far as I know Pegasus has never made a visit to this Academy, and Denkiteki would have had to go to East School. Maybe Elda gave him those cards…no, he said that Pegasus gave them to him himself.' She closed out of the computer and returned the magazines.

She was exhausted from researching and new that she needed to get her real researching done for her Midterms. She left the Library and headed off towards her dorm. She got in and saw Mia helping Kokuro study. "I see you've been studying," she said smiling.

"Sure have," Mia said happily. "But I'm getting bored. Do you want to take over?"

"You're getting bored studying?" Sonomi asked.

"Midterms are just a few days away," Mia said. "Besides, I know enough already. I should pass."

"But if you don't study your scores won't be as good as they could be," Kokuro said.

"I'll get what I get," Mia said winking. "I'm not going to worry about it." She gave Sonomi her study book and she headed out the door.

Kokuro glanced over at Sonomi who glanced over at him; "she's just lazy," Sonomi said sighing.

"Seems like it," Kokuro chuckled. "Well, you ready to hit the books?" Sonomi nodded and she sat down.

"You're sure you're ok with losing to that kid," she asked.

"I'm fine," he reassured her.

She gave a small smile and nodded, "alright, then lets get studying."


	36. Skeletal Closets

Sdrive: I don't own it.

A/N: Sorry for the excessively long update everyone. This chapter just never seemed to be completed right and then school got in the way and then I just started writing ahead to make everything work. Plus I wanted Peace to review lol. Anyway, here we go.

* * *

It was late at night the day before midterms. Mia had long since gone to bed and Sonomi and Kokuro were just finishing up studying. Sonomi took off her glasses and looked at Kokuro, "you ready?" she asked him. 

He nodded, "yeah."

"Ok, the midterms are a bit different than the Quarterly Exams," she said. "Not different for the Ra's though. We're still dueling Obelisks however certain Ra's who are happy where they are in the Academy go on to duel the Osiris'."

"Is that how it works?" Kokuro asked.

"Yeah. I feel sorry for the poor fool that gets to duel Mia," Sonomi said chuckling.

They glanced over at her bed and then Kokuro looked over at her, "So she's dueling a Red huh?"

"Yeah, but I'm dueling the Blues." Kokuro raised his eyebrow slightly and she chuckled, "I like beating them. It's fun for me."

"You're scary sometimes," Kokuro told her.

"Aren't I?" she asked grinning.

Kokuro rolled his eyes and chuckled, "We should probably get to sleep."

"Probably," she said. "We're waking up early tomorrow anyway after all."

"Alright," he said nodding. They changed and got into their beds resting up for the next day.

* * *

"Are things proceeding as you wish?" Seirei asked Kaiba. 

"They're getting there," Kaiba said. "But I'm still worried that not everything will go the way I want them too. This new project of ours has to be perfect."

"Then how about changing the rules?" Denkiteki asked looking at him.

"What do you mean?" Kaiba asked.

"Take a trip down memory lane and use some Battle City ideas. Especially with the Life Points."

Kaiba thought about it for a moment and then grinned, "I like it. With fewer Life Points, it will be harder for the students and they'll have to be extra cautious when dueling, and so they'll want to pack their decks with even more heavy hitters."

"Also," Denkiteki continued,

"Offer a prize. How about, their deck if they win?" 

"I'm not sure if that's such a good idea," Kazuki said interjecting. "The amount of cards that will be lost…"

"Everyone else will have to return them, but the winner gets to keep whatever they picked out."

"It is tempting," Kaiba said. He wrote it down on his board and looked at it, "I need more ideas, anyone."

"You should have at least two duelists that know about it ahead of time," Seirei suggested. "And maybe force them to be paired up against those that might cause more trouble than others."

"I've already got my two picked out," Kaiba grinned.

* * *

The next morning Kokuro was up bright and early. He gathered his things together and put them in his backpack. He sat at the computer and played games for a while until Sonomi woke up. She mumbled a good morning and then went into the bathroom to get ready. 

She came out a while later fully dressed and ready to go. "We need to wake up Mia," she said looking over at Mia's bed.

"I fail at waking up Mia," Kokuro said sadly.

Sonomi walked over to Mia and nudged her gently, "Are you going to wake up for midterms or not?"

"Ok," Mia said immediately jumping out of bed. She turned to look at Kokuro who was rather annoyed. "Sorry, better luck next time," she said smiling happily.

"Uh huh," he said grumbling.

They all left and prepared to go their separate ways for their individual classes. Sonomi and Kokuro entered Professor Hikari's class and sat down at their seats. "Good luck," Sonomi whispered to him.

They waited until Professor Hikari handed out the tests, Sonomi put on her glasses and they began. Kokuro looked at the first question on the test.

_Name five out of the eight cards in the game that are considered Archfiends, though they don't have Archfiend in their name._

Kokuro glanced at the paper and was stunned, 'What kind of question is this?' he asked. He concentrated for a moment and then recalled a discussion that he and Domid had earlier in the year. 'Beast of Talwar, Axe of Despair, Black Skull Dragon, Summoned Skull, Shadow Tamer.' He then turned to the next question.

_Earlier in a duel you used Exchange to take your opponent's Horus The Black Flame Dragon Lv8. You activate Reload. What happens to your Opponent's card?_

'The card gets shuffled back into your opponent's deck.'

* * *

Kokuro stretched as his main exams finished. It had been a tiring morning and he was glad it was over. Lunch was up next and then the Duel Exams would begin. He left the academy and went down towards the dorm. He heard the dorms were doing special meals for the exams. As he was walking he heard a lot of commotion on his right. He headed over to see what was going on and saw Sonomi and another Yellow dueling in front of the card shop. Sonomi had her Flame Ruler out and a card under the table. Her opponent had a Twin Headed Behemoth on the field, and a defense position Spear Dragon, and two cards under the table. 

"Flame Ruler, attack his Spear Dragon," she commanded.

"Holy Life Barrier says otherwise," the Yellow said dropping a card from his hand.

"Fine, my turn is over," Sonomi grumbled.

"Now it's my turn," he said drawing. "And now you're in trouble, I sacrifice my two dragons to summon Tyrant Dragon!" he announced as the large dragon appeared on the field taking up most of the space. (2900/2500) "Attack her Flame Ruler."

"I don't agree with that," Sonomi said as her Draining Shield reversed. The fire that Tyrant Dragon spit out turned into blue energy which surrounded Sonomi. So: (6850)

"Fine," the boy said. "But next round you won't be so lucky."

Sonomi drew and looked at her card, "I'll set two cards under the table and put Flame Ruler on guard and one other monster. Go."

"Then it's my move," he said laughing. "First I'll knock out your Flame Ruler!" he announced as Flame Ruler was incinerated. "Then I'll attack your on guard monster."

"You destroyed UFO Turtle," she said smirking as the turtle was destroyed.

"I don't care," he said. "You don't have any more Solar Flare Dragons and even if you did, you couldn't save it from Tyrant Dragon."

"That's why I'm choosing Ultimate Baseball Kid," she announced as her small Baseball Kid appeared on the field. (1500/1000) "And then I'll activate Inferno Reckless Summoning," she called out as her other card lifted. "Now I can summon two more Baseball Kids," she said snickering, "Oh, and if you have any other Tyrant Dragons, you can summon them, but I doubt you do." The two other Baseball Kids appeared on the field. (4500/1000 x3)

"No…It can't be," he muttered.

"Oh it be," Sonomi said drawing. "Baseball Kid one, take out his dragon." In one Grand Slam the Tyrant Dragon was blow to pieces. "The other two will finish you off," she said smirking as they both swung their bats into him knocking him to the ground. Ra: (0)

"And I believe that wins me those final two packs," she said looking over at Setsuna.

"Sure did," Setsuna said handing her two packs.

"See ya around," she said walking off. She spotted Kokuro and walked over to him, "How'd you like it?" she asked.

"I caught the ending," he admitted. "But that was pretty impressive."

"I got the last two promotional packs that they give out during Midterms. That's why we were dueling."

"Lucky," Kokuro said smiling at her. She opened them and looked at the Pot of Avarice she pulled and sighed a little. "What's wrong?" he asked her.

"It's a rare card but I have no use for it," she sighed.

"Sure you do," he said.

"Me and my spell unfriendly deck," she said.

"It's one card," Kokuro said looking at her. "Well, technically it's three copies of one card, but you get the idea," he was obviously indicating Curse of Darkness.

"I suppose," she said as they walked into the dorm. When they got into their room they saw Mia brushing her hair and talking on the phone.

"Can't you please try to get him to come," she said whimpering. They looked at each other and then back at her. "I know his schedule is a huge problem, but I want to see him." There was a pause before she sighed, "Alright," she said quietly. "I'll have to find someone else to take," she sighed. "It's alright, it's not your fault…Love you too mom, bye." She hung up the phone and finished brushing her hair. She turned around and saw Kokuro and Sonomi staring at her. "Oh, hi guy's," she said forcing a smile.

"What was that all about?" Sonomi asked her.

Mia looked down, "I wanted my boyfriend, Takashi, to try to come to Parent's Night and see me, but his schedule is interfering."

"He can't take a day off to come see you?" Kokuro asked skeptically.

"He's already taken off too many days because he had a nasty virus, and he works nights. It's looking like he won't be able to come."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Kokuro said.

"Thanks," she said. "There's still a small chance. He's going to talk to his bosses tonight. I'll know by tomorrow."

"I hope it works out for you," Sonomi said walking over to her and handing her a card.

"What's this?" she asked looking at it. "Pot of Avarice?"

"You can use it more than I can," she said winking at her. "Now come on, we're already late for lunch, let's not be late for our duels."

"Right," Mia nodded.

* * *

After lunch the gang separated to wait for their exams to begin. Kokuro was lead into the arena by a teacher and was taken into his field. There was an Obelisk Blue Female standing there looking across at Kokuro as he arrived. She had black hair with purple highlights and bangs; she was wearing a lot of odd, black jewelry. 

"So, you're the Ra everyone's been hearing about," she said to him.

"I guess so," Kokuro said shrugging.

"So, here you are, on the verge of rising even farther in rank," she said almost giving him a smile.

"I'm surprised I'm not facing Kazuki," Kokuro admitted.

"You never face the same person you faced in the quarterly exams," she said pulling her deck out of the deck box she had strapped around her leg. She shuffled and inserted it into her Duel Disk causing it to unfold. Kokuro grabbed his and put it into his own disk.

"Let the Midterm Duel begin," the teacher said. "Akuma will begin," he said pointing at the obelisk.

"So your name's Akuma," Kokuro said grinning. "Good luck."

"You too," she said pulling six cards. She looked over her hand before saying, "I'll begin by summoning Archfiend Soldier," she announced as a purple demon in a cape with a long sword appeared on the field. (1900/1500)

"I remember my days of using that card," Kokuro grinned.

"I had heard you used these once," she said taking another card from her hand. "I'll equip Archfiend Soldier with Axe of Despair." The demon put his sword away as an axe appeared in his hand. (2900/1500) "My turn is over."

"Then let's begin mine shall we?" he asked drawing. "I summon Skilled Black Magician," he called out as his black robed magician appeared on the field. (1900/1700) "Next I'll activate Spell Absorption." The spell card appeared and Kokuro thought of Selaya for a brief moment as Skilled Black Magician began to glow. "Now I activate Riryoku," he said as the spell appeared on the field. Skilled Black Magician began to glow again as it gained half of Archfiend Soldier's attack and the demon lost half of its attack. Ko: (8500)

"Well, that's unfortunate," she said looking at him.

"Attack Archfiend Soldier!" Kokuro called out. The magician shot magic at the demon eradicating it. Ak: (6100) "That's a wrap," he smiled.

Akuma drew and grinned, "Sorry Kokuro, I want you to advance, but I'm not going to let you win."

"Why are you so interested in me?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You keep talking about how you want me to advance, but I don't know anything about you." He stopped for a moment and then gasped, "Do you know Ami!"

"Who's Ami?" she asked.

Kokuro face faulted and then stood back up, "never mind."

"You're original question was why I wanted you to advance," she said thinking for a second. She finally shrugged, "You're a good duelist."

"That's it?" he asked.

"Not Kazuki level, but you're quite good. I just want to see you advance," she smiled.

"Oh…" he said. "So, you don't want anything from me?"

"Why would I?" she asked confused.

"I'm…not sure," he admitted. Then he laughed, "Sorry, I guess I'm just a little paranoid."

Akuma laughed, "It happens to all of us sometimes, don't fret about it. I'm sure it has a lot to do with my appearance."

"I guess that doesn't help my judgements," Kokuro said chuckling a little.

"Now then, to continue with our duel, I'll activate Revive Dead, this allows me to bring back Archfiend Soldier," she said as her demon appeared on the field again. Ko: (9000) "Now I sacrifice Archfiend Soldier to summon Archfiend of Gilfer," she announced as a black demon with wings and large claws appeared on the field. (2200/2500)

"This could be bad," Kokuro said worried.

"Gilfer, destroy Skilled Black Magician!" Gilfer created a fire ball in its hand which it flung at Skilled Black Magician destroying it. Ko: (8700) "That's my move."

'I could have summoned my Black Magician,' Kokuro sighed. He drew his card and looked at it, "I set one card under the table and one on guard. That's all I can do."

"I'm sorry to hear that," she said a little less than sympathetically as she pulled the top card off her deck. "I activate Pot of Greed," she said as she drew an additional two cards. Ko: (9200) 'This will allow me to bring out my field…but first,' she took the other card and slid it into her disk, "I activate Heavy Storm." A hurricane blew throughout the field and Kokuro's Shadow Spell trap was torn to pieces and the Spell Absorption shattered. Ko: (9700)

"So much for that plan," he thought. 'Luckily I have a back up,' he grinned.

Akuma looked at his grin and then seemed to be concentrating intently, "I activate Tribute to the Doomed!" she announced. She took a card from her hand and slid it into the graveyard. Kokuro's Old Magician appeared only to be wrapped in bandages and dragged into the ground. "Had you succeeded with that plan you could have gotten rid of Gilfer. Too bad I was two steps ahead of you. Gilfer, attack the player!" Gilfer shot a fire ball at Kokuro knocking him backwards. Ko: (7500) "That's all for this turn."

'Good grief,' he thought sweating a little. 'She's good. I expected a decent challenge, but not this.' He drew his card and looked at it. 'If she can get past this, I don't know how I'll stop her.' He took a monster and set it, and slid another card into his disk, "One on guard and one under, go."

She drew her card and slid it into her disk, "One under, Gilfer attack!" Gilfer's fireball blasted Spirit of the Harp (800/2000) to dust before returning to Akuma's side of the field. "I'm done."

Kokuro drew, "Pot of Greed," he announced drawing twice more. He sighed, "I set one on guard, your turn." He sighed and looked across at her, "Pretty high paced duel," he said smiling.

"It is, I'm enjoying it," she picked up her next card and summoned it to the field, "I summon Vilepawn Archfiend," she announced as a demon without skin appeared on the field. One of its hands was actually a large sword. (1200/200)

"Here we go," Kokuro announced as his trap reversed itself, "Go Torrential Tribute. This will wash away every monster on the field, causing us to start with a clean slate."

A large tsunami appeared behind Kokuro washing away his White Magician Pikeru and her Vilepawn Archfiend. "I end my turn then," she said. As Kokuro was about to draw a large machine appeared in front of Akuma and shot out a beam of light making Archfiend of Gilfer reappear on the field.

'No way,' he thought. "An Interdimensional Matter Transporter?"

"Yup," she said smiling. "Too bad for you, but Gilfer isn't that easy to kill."

Kokuro stared in shock at the girl he was facing, 'this is crazy. She's so strong. I'm sure she could even give Sonomi and Mia a run for their money. The worst part is, she seems as nice as Mia.'

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

"You use some of the scariest looking monsters I've seen, and you seem like an excellent duelist…and yet you're as nice as my one of my best friends."

"There's a story behind my monsters," Akuma said. "But I don't think now is the best time to tell it."

"Why not?" Kokuro asked.

"It's not the nicest of stories," Akuma said looking at him.

"It can't be too bad," Kokuro said laughing.

She paused for a minute before looking at him, "I was kidnapped as a child, and abused by my abductor."

Kokuro's laughing stopped immediately, "That's horrible," Kokuro said awestruck. "I'm…I'm sorry."

"It gets worse. As you might assume, people who kidnap small girls, tend to do things to them. I won't go into details, but it finally drove me to the point where I thought I was going insane. I started hearing voices."

"Voices?" Kokuro asked.

"This isn't story time," the teacher said interrupting.

"Sorry Sensei," Akuma said. "I forgot; you've already heard this tale." She turned to Kokuro, "Please continue with your move."

"I…I don't think I can," he said feeling weak in his knees. "I'm…I'm not sure I can. I have so many questions, and not only that; I don't think I can win."

"You have to try," Akuma said almost harshly. "If you never try to get out of a tough situation, you'll never survive. Trust me, _I know._"

Kokuro felt shivers running down his spine, 'I don't think I can keep going,' he thought to himself. 'I was spared from having to face a torment similar to hers…I…I don't know. A part of me wants to keep asking her, to find out, what might of happened to…' As if knowing that he needed comforting, Kuriboh appeared on his shoulder and let out a cry. He looked over at Kuriboh, and thought of his friends, pushing their strength into him. 'I can't think about that right now,' he realized. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and drew the top card of his deck. He looked at it and his eyes narrowed, "I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior," he said taking the only card from his hand and putting it on the field.

The red robed magical swordsman appeared on the field, sword glowing and ready. (1900/1000) "Then I activate the card I drew, Mage Power!" he called out as his monster began to glow with golden light. (2400/1500) "Breaker, wipe out Gilfer!" he announced. Breaker brought his sword down onto Gilfer which shattered into pieces, causing Akuma to flinch. Ak: (5900) She straightened up and smirked.

"Sorry, but like I said, it's not easy to kill Gilfer." Gilfer reappeared on the field, but this time it looked more like a spirit. It flew into Breaker causing the spellcaster to back up coughing. (1900/1500)

"What's going on?" Kokuro asked.

"Whenever Gilfer goes to the graveyard, it comes back onto the field and attaches itself as an Equip Spell Card to one monster, and that monster loses 500 attack points."

"Then I'll just have to re-destroy it, Breaker, use your ability to destroy Gilfer!" Breaker's sword began to glow and Gilfer's spirit was flung from Breaker, who sliced him in half again.

"What part of, when he's sent to the graveyard, did you not understand?" Akuma asked.

"What do you mean?" Kokuro asked as Gilfer once again reappeared and entered Breaker once more. (1600/1500) "You mean even when it's destroyed as an equip it returns," Kokuro asked stunned.

"That's right," she said grinning. She smiled as she looked at Gilfer and slid it into one of her spell and trap zones.

"I have to end my turn," Kokuro said upset.

"I'm sorry," she said to him.

He looked up at her surprised, "for what?" he asked.

"I know this duel is hard, and watching your Breaker suffer, it's probably not easy."

"No it's fine," Kokuro said a little shaken. "It is a duel after all."

"True, but I shouldn't have brought up my past," she said. "It's only distracting you."

"I'll be fine," he thought as Kuriboh landed on his shoulder and let out a small cry. "I've got my friends looking out for me."

Akuma's eyes raised slightly but she shrugged it off, "Very well, it's my move," she said drawing a card. "Now, I summon Shadowknight Archfiend," she announced as a demon much like Vilepawn appeared on the field. However this ones sword and claws were red rather than blue, it also had two black wings and blue hair. (2000/1600) "Now I activate the spell card Terraforming," she said as she slid the card into her disk.

"And what does that do?" Kokuro asked.

"This allows me to search for one field spell card in my deck and add it to my hand. So I take this," she said showing it to him. "Pandemonium, which I activate now!" Suddenly the field around them began to change. Bones began to litter the entire field and huge pillars began to rise up all around them. "Now, if you know the rulings for Archfiends, you would know that I normally have to pay Life Points to use my Archfiends, but Pandemonium negates that cost, so I don't have to pay anything."

"Lucky for you," Kokuro said slightly annoyed.

"Now then, Shadowknight, destroy Breaker!" Shadowknight slashed Breaker across his chest destroying him. Ko: (7300) "In case you're wondering, when Shadowknight inflicts damage, that damage is cut in half."

"Well that's good at least," Kokuro said. He watched the spirit of Gilfer appear and enter into Shadowknight. (1500/1600) "And that's even better," he grinned.

"My turn is done."

Kokuro drew his card and looked down at it, "I summon Skilled White Magician," he announced as the white robed magician appeared twirling his staff. (1700/1900) "Since it would harm me more to attack with Skilled White, I'm ending my turn here."

"Very well," Akuma said drawing. "I set one card under the table and end."

"My move again," Kokuro said drawing another card. "I'll also set one card under the table and end."

Akuma drew her card and played it instantly, "I activate Card of Sanctity. Now we each draw until we're holding six cards," she said as they each drew. "However, I'm afraid that half of your cards are going away," her face down reversed and it showed a man undergoing intense pain with the image of an Archfiend behind him. "Archfiends Curse is a special trap card. Whenever you draw cards outside of the draw phase, you must dump half of them."

Kokuro growled worriedly and looked over his hand, he slid Pikeru's Circle, Sage's Stone, and Black Magic Attack into the graveyard. "There you go," he said.

"Now, I sacrifice my Shadowknight for my Skull Archfiend of Lightning," she announced as her monster vanished and a monster that looked like Summoned Skull only darker appeared on the field. (2500/1200) "Gilfer then goes to Skilled White," she said as Gilfer appeared and possessed the magician. (1200/1900) "Skull Archfiend, attack with Lightning Strike!" The monster caused a rainstorm of lightning to fall down onto the magician destroying it. Ko: (6000) Gilfer appeared and took over the Skull Archfiend. (2000/1200) "It's your move."

Kokuro looked at the newer Archfiend and sighed, 'I never gave Archfiends much credit because I felt there were too many of them and I thought they're effects relied too much on luck. I guess I was wrong.' Akuma stared at Kokuro and sighed; Kokuro noticed and looked up, "What's wrong?" he asked.

"From what I heard, you usually duel for fun."

"I do," he said.

"It's just troublesome to watch you struggle so much," she said. "Normally I don't care what my opponent is feeling in a duel, but this can't be too fun for you."

"I'll be fine," Kokuro reassured her.

She closed her eyes and looked at him, "When I was in the hands of my captor, he taught me how to play Duel Monsters," she said.

Kokuro looked up surprised, "Why did he do that?"

"He enjoyed attacking me with his monsters, but he couldn't do that unless I had a deck. So he would lock me up, and then go out and buy cards for me. He wouldn't let me have any strong ones, just an assortment of randomly strewn about cards that usually couldn't be summoned without a sacrifice."

"That's so horrible," Kokuro said.

"With all the beatings that he gave out personally, among other things, and getting attacked, I thought I had gone insane. I was hearing voices, and soon enough, those voices took on a form." She pulled Archfiend of Gilfer out of her Duel Disk and showed it to Kokuro. "The very monsters he used to beat me with were talking to me."

"He used Archfiends!" Kokuro gasped.

"In all honesty, this is his deck," Akuma said.

"Why in the world would you use cards that were used to abuse you?" Kokuro nearly shouted. The proctor wanted the match to continue but he could tell that it was too late, Kokuro was too curious.

"At first I thought I was going to die," Akuma said. "And at one point I escaped. I found my way out of his hideout and ran, with him hot on my trail. I reached a bridge and the voices were telling me to jump. They told me that anything was better than the hell I was already living in."

"I was about to kill myself when he found me and forced me into his car, taking me back. I was beat severely that night," she said as a small tear fell from her eye. "As time went on, the voices continued, but instead of urging me to kill myself, it helped me figure out a way to kill him."

"You mean…"

"One night, when he was drunk, I found my way free and I rid myself of him forever, I won't go into details." Kokuro could barely talk. "When I finally got home, I told my parents all about the voices, and how they saved me. I was sent to countless amounts of therapists, thinking that the stress of being kidnapped and tortured had messed me up, but none ever did the trick. I was even sent to a few hypnotists, and none of them could break the spell over me."

"One day, while with my therapist, he asked me if I was familiar with Duel Monsters. I told him about my past with the game and he asked me if I might be comfortable with a duel. He promised me it would be tabletop, and nothing would really attack me. That was when I first used the Archfiend deck. I had seen it used countless amounts of times, I knew how to run it. And as we dueled, I could hear the voices, they were cheering me on."

"Once the duel ended, he gave me a book which he told me I had to keep secret from my parents. He advised me to read it over night, and that it would be our last visit. He also told me that while I was tortured, I had been given a gift, and that I should use it wisely. When I got home, I read the book. It was all about Duel Spirits."

"Duel Spirits?" Kokuro asked remembering when Yugi had mentioned them.

"They are the spirits of Duel Monsters. Only a few people can see them, and only certain spirits show themselves to humans. The book suggested that the spirits choose who could see them, and for their own reasons. I came to realize that the Archfiends, mainly Gilfer, were my Duel Spirits. Even though they're demons, and quite evil ones at that, they didn't like the fact that they were being used for such things as tormenting a little girl. So they decided to protect me. From that day on, I called myself Akuma. It means Demon, and I felt that it suited me. I haven't gone back to my old name, and I've even forced my parent's to call me so."

"I'm so sorry for you," was all Kokuro could respond with. 'Could this have been her fate had I not rescued her…?' Kokuro thought to himself.

"Don't," she said smiling a little. "The multiple therapy sessions, while they didn't make the voices go away, they made me come to terms with what had happened. My two years being captive are something I've come to accept. However I don't define myself as a kidnapped girl, I define myself by my ability to hear my Archfiends. And I've sworn that for as long as I live, no Archfiends will be used for anything other than Duel Monsters games meant to be fun."

Kokuro looked at her unable to think of anything to say, "I don't know how to continue this duel."

"You're not giving up are you?" she asked.

"This is just too much," he said shaking.

"If you remember correctly, I said that Archfiends won't be used for anything other than games that are meant to be fun, so why aren't you having any fun?"

"Your past…"

"I told you, I don't define myself by what happened to me, I define myself by what came out of what happened to me. I'm fine now, all my wounds have long since healed, and the Archfiends protect me. Just like your magicians protect you."

Kokuro looked at the cards in his hand and then looked at the Archfiend of Gilfer that she was sliding back into her disk, and then off to the side where Kuriboh was, 'and just like my friends and Kuriboh…' "If that's what you want," Kokuro said placing his hand towards his deck. "Then I don't want to disappoint you!" he called out drawing. "If you truly want those cards to be used for fun, who am I to stop you?" he asked smiling.

"That's the spirit," she said.

"I'll set a monster on guard and two cards under the table," he announced as the three cards appeared on the field. "I'm going to win," he told her. "And I'm going to have fun doing it. Besides, how can I hold a grudge against cards you've long since forgiven?"

"Exactly," she said smiling.

"I end my turn," he said.

"Then it's time for me to follow it up," she said drawing. "I summon Terrorking Archfiend," she announced as another Archfiend appeared. This one had black wings like the Shadowknight, but he also wore a long red robe, a crown, and wielded a huge double sided axe. (2000/1500) "Terrorking, attack his face down monster!"

Terrorking flung its axe which began spinning and heading right for the face down card. "Reverse Magic Cylinder!" Kokuro called out.

"Now comes the fun part; does it work?" she asked. She produced a die from her pocket and flung it across the field. "If it lands on a two or a five, your trap is negated and destroyed." They watched in suspense as it slowly stopped and landed on a three. The axe flew through one cylinder and came out the other smashing into Akuma. Ak: (3900) Terrorking looked back at Akuma who slowly stood up shook it off, "It's fine," she reassured it. It grabbed its axe and looked back towards Kokuro. "Yes…yes it worked," she said shaking her head before glancing up at Kokuro, "Fine, Skull Archfiend, Lightning Strike!"

The Skull blasted a series of lightning bolts at an Old Vindictive Magician that appeared. It began to power its attack and fired it at the skull. "Luckily I keep two," Akuma said as she pulled out another die and flung it across the room as well. "If it lands on a one, three, or six, it will be safe and your Old Mage will have an unhappy ending." The die came to a stop on one. The lightning pushed the magic of the old mage back onto its caster and then blasted the magician itself. "No, it doesn't work," she grinned.

Kokuro covered himself from the wind that picked up, "well, that could have gone better," he sighed.

"I'm done," she said.

Kokuro drew and looked at the Fusion he drew, "I have to pass," he sighed.

"Very well," she said as she drew her next card. "I summon Infernalqueen Archfiend." Yet another archfiend appeared and this one, like most others, had black wings. She also had a purple robe, and long purple hair, on top of her head was a crown. (900/1500) "Now, my three Archfiends, attack the player."

"Not if I can help it," he called out as his Sleepy Sheep revealed themselves. Four sheep appeared on the field in time to get blasted. "I've saved myself," Kokuro grinned.

"It would seem so," she said. "I end my turn."

"My move," he said drawing.

"I activate the ability of my Infernalqueen, during each standby phase she can raise the power of one archfiend on the field by 1000, and who better than herself?" she asked. (1900/1500)

"Fine," he said, "But I'm going to help us both out now," he said flipping over his Double Spell. "I'm activating the Double Spell I drew, dropping the Fusion in my hand, and copying the Card of Sanctity in your graveyard, so that we can each draw until we're holding six." They refreshed their hands and Kokuro looked at the new assortment of cards he was holding.

"Find something you need?" she asked.

"Actually I did," he grinned. "First off I activate Cost Down, and I'll discard my Black Magician of Chaos to use it," he said as he discarded the card. "Now I'll summon Chaos Command Magician without a sacrifice," he announced as the green robed magician appeared on the field. (2400/1900)

"Not bad for a one sacrifice monster," she nodded, impressed.

"Next, I'll activate Premature Burial, this may cost 800 Life Points, but it also gives me my Black Magician of Chaos back." Ko: (5200) Black Magician of Chaos appeared on the field glowing with a bright blue light. "And _his _ability will allow me to retrieve the Mage Power I lost earlier in the duel."

"This isn't good," she said worriedly, and then she smiled, "Yet, I must say I'm truly impressed."

'Interesting,' the exam proctor thought.

"Mage Power goes onto my Black Magician of Chaos, along with another card under the table." (4800/4600) "Now I'll attack your Infernal Queen with my Black Magician of Chaos!" he called out. A magical ball of electricity formed at the tip of his magician's staff before being fired at the Archfiend destroying it.

Akuma shielded herself as a heavy wind picked up, "My Infernalqueen," she growled. Ak: (1000)

"Chaos Command Magician, attack Terrorking!" Chaos Command Magician attacked with a ruby colored beam of magic which blasted Terrorking destroying him. Ak: (600)

"I discard Desrook Archfiend from my hand in order to activate its ability, allowing me to return Terrorking to the field."

"I wasn't expecting that," Kokuro admitted. "But it's not a problem, I end my turn."

Akuma drew her card and chuckled, "I activate Pot of Avarice," she said taking five monsters out of her graveyard, combining them with her deck and then drawing two cards. "And now I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, destroying your Premature Burial." The magical wind picked up blowing the spell card to pieces. Mage Power and Black Magician of Chaos vanished. "And now, I'll summon the Warrior of Zera," he announced as a muscular man with green armor, blue pants, and a long sword with the handle of a blue dragon appeared on the field. (1600/1600) "Now it's time for my most powerful monster," Akuma said. "I can sacrifice Warrior of Zera to special summon Mazera DeVille!"

Pandemonium began to shake as a large demon appeared. It resembled Warrior of Zera's uniform, only now it was much more muscular, had large claws, and giant green demon wings. (2800/2300) It slashed at Kokuro's hand forcing the rest of his cards to go to the Graveyard.

"Mazera can only be special summoned when Pandemonium is on the field, and only by offering Warrior of Zera. When it does that, it can take out three cards from your hand and discard them," Akuma explained. "And now, Mazera, wipe out his Chaos Command Magician!" Mazera roared loudly and blasted a black beam of power at the magician destroying it. Ko: (4800) "The worst is yet to come, Terrorking, wipe out his last goat!" Terrorking flung its axe at the sheep destroying it. "Now Skull Archfiend, Lightning Strike!" Showers of lightning bolts rained down on Kokuro causing him to yell out as he was hit. Ko: (2800) "My turn is over, and soon, this duel will be too."

"We'll see," Kokuro said as he pulled the top card on his deck. "I remove Old Vindictive Magician and Spirit of the Harp to special summon Chaos Sorcerer," he announced as his purple spellcaster appeared on the field.

"Not that!" she exclaimed shocked.

"Chaos Sorcerer, remove Mazera from the game!" Kokuro called out. The sorcerer cast a spell causing Mazera to vanish from the field. "That's my turn."

Akuma sweat a bit as she drew her card, "I'll set a monster on guard, and switch Terrorking and Skull Archfiend. Go."

Kokuro drew and smirked, "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Pandemonium!" A large electrical wind blew through the field and they were instantly transported back to the exam room. "Now, Chaos Sorcerer, destroy Terrorking!" The sorcerer shot a ball of magic at Terrorking destroying it. "Your move."

Akuma growled as she drew, "With Pandemonium gone, I have to pay 500 Life Points to keep my Skull Archfiend," she said as a blast of electricity struck her. Ak: (100) "I have to end."

Kokuro drew his card and smirked, "Its over," he said as he summoned Spear Dragon to the field in attack mode. (1900/0) "Attack Skull Archfiend, end this duel!" A vortex of wind erupted from the dragon's mouth. It blasted through the archfiend and connected with Akuma. Ak: (0)

"The winner of the exam duel is Kokuro Samé," the exam proctor announced. The holograms vanished and Kokuro let out a breath of relief.

"It was a well played duel," Akuma said walking over to Kokuro and extended her hand.

"It was an emotional battle," Kokuro said taking her hand and shaking. "Do you do that to all of your opponents?" he asked.

"Very few know about my past," she said winking. "They just think I'm some kind of Goth or Emo girl."

"I'm glad, it's not something everyone should know," Kokuro said smiling a bit.

"I felt that you earned the right to know," she said. "However, it seemed that something other than my past was bothering you?" she asked curiously.

"Let's just say I almost had to face a situation much like yours," he said in a low, angrier voice. "I was able to stop it before it got out of control though."

"We all have some sort of skeletons in our closet," Akuma nodded understanding. Then she gave a small smile, "Now go claim your prize," she said as she turned and walked off.

"My prize?" Kokuro wondered.

The exam proctor walked up to Kokuro, "If you would follow me please," he said. He started to head off and Kokuro followed, wondering what this 'prize,' was she had mentioned.

* * *

Created Cards:

Archfiend's Curse: Counter Trap. Picture: a man undergoing intense pain with the image of an Archfiend behind him. Effec: If your opponent draws outside of the Draw Phase, they must discard half the cards they drew rounded up to the nearest one.


	37. Obelisk Blues

Sdrive: The midterms are over, lets see what rewards Kokuro is in for.

* * *

The proctor had lead Kokuro into a hallway on the top floor of the arena base, the secret top floor. He had been instructed to sit in a chair next to a door until he was called for. He had been waiting for quite a while and was growing bored. His PDA had gone off multiple times.

_Where are you? We're waiting. Sonomi_

_Kokuro doesn't love us anymore, he's gone and he'll never come back! Maybe if I promise him a hug when he gets home. Please come home and get a hug! Mia._

_Congratulations on your victory._

_-Ami_

_Hope you didn't struggle too hard. I look forward to seeing you soon. Kazuki._

And then the last message he had received read.

_I'm not normally one to boast like this, but I defeated my opponent much quicker than you did, and I've gotten straight A's in all my tests. I'm in Ra Yellow now so prepare to see me much more frequently. Ritsuzen._

He waited around until finally Kaiba opened the door and motioned for him to enter. Kokuro gulped slowly upon seeing Kaiba, and walked in carefully. "Ye…yes?" he asked nervously.

"Have a seat," he said motioning to a chair. Kokuro weakly sat down and looked up at him. "Kokuro, since you came to the island, you've shown me that you are a remarkable student."

"Thank you Master Kaiba," he said feeling more relieved.

"According to my studies, you've lost only to Mia Notosa, Kazuki, on a few occasions, and to Denkiteki. All of those students have quite a number of years on you here at the academy, and are all very skilled, especially Mia."

"She's one in a million," Kokuro said chuckling.

"It would appear so," he said putting down a small file. "And she's also in your Dorm room, along with another female student, Sonomi Hinote."

"Um…yeah," he said slowly.

"As you know, there were multiple students that entered into the academy last year, a lot of potential, and the yellow dorm overflowed this year. You've been bunking with two female students, a practice I don't really approve of." Kokuro gulped and looked up at him some more. "Before I continue, I need you to be completely honest with me."

Kokuro began sweating a bit as Kaiba looked down at him and stared into his eyes, "Have you been involved in any sexual activities with either of those two girls while you were in that dorm?"

Kokuro gulped thinking about the kiss, but he didn't want to mention that and instead asked, "Do friendly hugs count?" he asked.

"You know what I mean Samé. Anything involving beds?"

"No," he answered. "Nothing of that sort."

"Good," he said. "I trust you, and them," he walked over to a file cabinet and began searching for something. "However, I can't allow you to be in that dorm room any longer. In fact, I don't think you should even be in that overcrowded dorm." He got what he was looking for and tossed it over at Kokuro. Kokuro caught it and looked down at a blue uniform in a plastic bag. "So to overcome this problem, I'm promoting you to Obelisk Blue." He turned around and gave Kokuro a grin, "Congratulations."

"Obelisk Blue!" Kokuro said amazed. "Seriously?" he asked looking up at him.

"You don't have to accept this offer," Kaiba said. "You can stay in Ra if you like, but I could see you making an excellent Blue Student. You would of course continue your full year courses, but now that your half year courses are over, they will be replaced with more demanding courses, worthy of an Obelisk. If you don't think you can handle it…"

"I can handle it," Kokuro assured him. He looked back at the uniform and then at Kaiba, "This has nothing to do with me rooming with two females does it?" he asked.

Kaiba grinned, "Sonomi wouldn't let you and she'd kill you if you and Mia ever did. I knew you were safe with those two."

Kokuro just looked at the uniform again and smiled, "Thank you," he said.

"You're welcome," he replied. "You'll need a code for your new room, since it's a key pad instead of a key card. You'll also need to move your things into your new room, but other than that from this day on you're officially an Obelisk Blue. You should get your things together."

"I will," he said nodding.

"Good. You're dismissed. When you get to the Obelisk Dorm you'll be given instructions on how to find your room."

"Alright," he said as he got up and bowed. He exited and Kaiba grinned at him. "I'll explain what other ideas I have for him once the week vacation is up."

* * *

An announcement was heard all over the Island. _Attention Duelists! The next week is a vacation week. At the end of the week will be the night everyone has been waiting for, Parent's Night. Make sure you have your date and your outfit picked out and registered in time. Enjoy your week off, the new semester starts the Monday after._

Kokuro was in the Ra Yellow dorm and was walking down the hallway towards what would soon be his old room. He was wearing his Obelisk Blue uniform and was thankful no one was around to see him and stop him from getting to his room. He wanted to surprise Mia and Sonomi. He was bummed that he wouldn't be bunking with the two girls any longer, but he knew that he would still see them both often.

He slid his card in and opened the door. The two turned around, "There you are, what took you so..." Sonomi stopped once she registered what he was wearing. "What is that!" she asked.

"Like it," he asked turning so they could admire it. "Headmaster Kaiba promoted me to Obelisk Blue," he told them. "I'm moving on up in the world."

"Ha ha, very funny," Mia said giving him a slight punch in the arm.

"What are you talking about?" Kokuro asked.

"I know you," she said smiling. "You would never turn down the chance to sleep with two girls," she said smiling slyly. "You're just doing this to tease us."

Kokuro chuckled, "well, as tempting as it is, I actually took the offer."

"You what?" Sonomi asked stunned.

"I took the offer," Kokuro said. "I came to pick up my stuff to transfer into the Obelisk Blue dorm."

Sonomi's eyes were wide for a moment but they instantly narrowed, "Ok, enough," she said standing up. "This charade is getting old fast. After all we've talked about; I know you couldn't have possibly taken up his offer."

"Talked about what?" he asked.

"About taking the easy way out," she said getting angry.

Kokuro's eyes widened slightly and then he closed them chuckling a little, "Come on Sonomi, this isn't me taking the easy way out. What happened at the beginning of the year, a complete nobody coming into the school and doing what no one else had and getting recognized for it, while it wasn't easy to do. But I did get recognized for it and I got to skip the bottom of the food chain here at the Academy and go into Ra. But now I've had time to make myself known, Master Kaiba has seen me in action before, and he's acknowledged my skills. He feels that I can handle Obelisk Blue, so I can assure you that this is not taking the easy way out."

"But that's exactly what it is!" she yelled at him.

"What are you talking about?" he asked not understanding.

'Oh no,' Mia said as she moved back as they got closer to each other.

"You skipped Red entirely, and you've only taken half a year of Yellow. You don't honestly think you can graduate this year do you?"

"That never even occurred to me but who knows, maybe I could," Kokuro shrugged. "I don't plan on graduating this year, I'll probably hang around for another year as an Obelisk, but if the opportunity arises itself, why not?"

"Because you've practically breezed through everything this year! I've worked hard to be what I am, and you come in and in less than a year you've completely turned this entire academy around!"

"Oh come on," he said mocking a laugh. "Remember what I said I was here to do? I said first I was to have fun, and second I would make new friends. My third and fourth reasons were to get better and prove myself back home. In less than a year I've gotten much better and I'm more than sure I can prove myself back home now. I mean look at this, Kaiba himself welcomed me into Obelisk."

"_I_ also told _you _that breezing through everything is a weak person's way of trying to be strong. You have skills, I acknowledge that, I acknowledged that your second day here for crying out loud. However you can't deny that you've lost to Mia and you've lost to Kazuki, even that other Obelisk with the Toons! You're scared that you're going to keep losing, so you want it to seem that you're the all powerful Kokuro, better than everyone and show off your blue jacket. That way idiots will avoid you, and you have Yaku and Kazuki to protect you."

"I can't believe you," he said looking at her in disgust. "What is wrong with you? You think that just because you refuse to advance in level, minus Legend, and decide to stay in whatever dorm you might be in no matter how many times you've been offered more, that everyone else has to go along with your ways and be held back."

"There are no short cuts in life," she said growling, a small tear running down her face. "If you take a short cut, you reveal your true colors."

"Apparently my true colors are blue," Kokuro said glaring at her.

Sonomi clenched her fists in fury, and finally shouted, "Get out!" She pushed Kokuro into the hallway and slammed the door on him.

He banged on the door, "Open up!" he shouted. He swiped the card through and was about to get in when the door was shoved back closed and the bolt was thrown. He banged louder, "Open up Sonomi. I need to get my stuff."

"Go buy new stuff with your Obelisk friends," she shouted through the door.

"This isn't funny," he yelled kicking the door trying to bust it open. He kicked it again but it wouldn't budge. He glared at the door and wiped his forehead clear of the sweat that had started to form. "Open up Hinote," he yelled at her.

"Screw off," came the distant response.

Kokuro fumed and kept restlessly beating on the door until finally he collapsed onto the ground, worn out. He began to get up and head towards the room of the Ra Yellow janitor. 'He'll have a way to get in,' he thought. As he was almost down the hall he heard the door open and turned to see Mia running over to him with his backpack and a few of his other knick knacks.

She had a sad look on her face as she handed them to him, he slowly took them and they stood in the hallway, not speaking. Finally the silence was unbearable and Mia looked up, "wait here, I'll go grab the rest."

"Don't bother," he said. "I'll have the janitor break in some time tomorrow and I'll get it then."

"Sonomi will calm down after a while," Mia tried to reassure him. "It may take her a while but she'll forgive you."

"There's nothing to be forgiven for and quite frankly I don't want any forgiveness from her anyway."

"You don't mean that!" Mia said quickly with tears running down her face. "You like her, and you're friends with her, you'll…"

"Apparently we're not friends anymore," Kokuro said. "She can't let me live my life the way I want to. A real friend wouldn't try to control me. But as long as you don't hate me I still want to be friends with you."

"Of course I don't hate you," she said wrapping her arms around him and burying her head in his chest. "And I know Sonomi doesn't either," she cried.

"Sorry Mia, but I know that's not true any longer If she really didn't hate me, she'd be happy for me," he let her go and he looked back at her, "See you around." He left the Ra dorm and made his way towards the Obelisk Dorm, leaving Mia to stand there upset.

* * *

He got to the dorm and once inside, looked around in awe. He had been in the Obelisk dorm before, but it always awed him every time he went in there. It was filled with such an outstanding elegance that none of the other dorms even came close too. He saw a man sitting on a couch in the lobby, when the man noticed him he walked over to him, "Kokuro right?"

Kokuro nodded, "Listen, just tell me my code and my dorm room, I'm not in a sociable mood."

"Um…ok," the man said surprised.

Kokuro got his info and walked up the flight of stairs to find his dorm room. He entered in the number and let himself in. It had a long bed off to the right, and a desk with a fancy new computer on it. There was a comfortable looking chair next to a lamp on one wall and there was a huge window with large blue curtains off to the side. There were two nightstands next to the bed with a small lamp on each. Kokuro dumped his stuff and went over to the bed.

He laid down in it and found it to be very comfortable. He fast fell asleep, completely exhausted from his fight with Sonomi. He slept through the night, in his uniform and absolutely nothing put away.

* * *

He woke up very tired the next morning; he had had nothing but nightmares the entire night. He slowly made his way into the bathroom and sat in the hot steamy shower until the water went cold. He wasn't satisfied with his shower so he grabbed a pair of sweats, a black t-shirt, and grabbed his swim suite. He left the dorm, surprising Satoshi on his way out.

"What are you doing here?" Satoshi asked him.

"I'm official," Kokuro said tiredly. He kept walking leaving Satoshi to stand there staring at him.

Kokuro dragged himself out towards the hot springs. He was about half way there when two joggers began to run up towards him. He looked over to see Mia stop in front of him and Yaku collapse on the ground gasping for breath. "Finally, we rest," he said gasping.

Kokuro raised an eyebrow at him before turning to Mia, "hey," he said to her.

"Hi," she said. "How'd you sleep last night in your comfy new bed?"

"Let's not go there," he said.

"Bad night?" she asked a little surprised.

"I had nightmares," he replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said looking down. "I could have slept better myself. But poor Sonomi, she was up almost all night…"

"Oh well," he said shrugging. He looked down at Yaku who seemed to have passed out, "Do you always work him this hard?"

"Of course," Mia said smiling. "It puts him in shape, and he's going to need it if he wants to fit into a cheaper tux for Parent's night."

"Your sister works at I2 and you're trying to get a cheap tuxedo?" Kokuro asked skeptically.

"Just because she's filthy rich don't mean I am," he said standing up slightly. "Mia told me what happened while we were running; bummer about you and Sonomi but awesome that you're an Obelisk now."

"I don't feel like one," Kokuro said.

"You miss Sonomi," Mia said quietly.

"You can't miss someone who hates you," he replied harshly. He saw that Mia was hurt at what he had said and sighed, "I miss you," he said. "Plus I really don't know too many people in Obelisk."

"I'll give you the walk around tour after my work out," Yaku said.

"I'll be in the hot springs for a while," Kokuro admitted. "I don't expect to be back in my room for a while."

"Oh," Yaku said shrugging. "Well, give me a text when you do."

"Sure," Kokuro said nodding. He said goodbye to them and they went in the opposite direction as he continued his path towards the hot springs. As he was walking he heard a loud explosion and turned to see what was going on. He realized he was close to the restaurant and the beach. He looked down and saw an Obelisk get pushed back into the ocean by an explosion. He wasn't surprised when he saw Sonomi there glaring at the Obelisk.

"I told you," she said to him as his Life Points fell to zero. "I'm in a bad mood." She turned to head back towards the restaurant and glanced up over the hill to see Kokuro standing there, staring back at her. Their stares turned into glares and they moved off towards their destinations, not uttering a word to each other.

Kokuro got to the hot springs and changed into his swim suite, before going off into the steamy hot water. He slid down onto a seat and let his body relax itself. He didn't get to relax long until male and female students began entering into the hot springs and began chatting and talking to each other. He glared at them before closing his eyes and tilting his head into the water, so that his ears were covered. A couple students tried to approach him and he easily reassured them that talking to him was a bad idea.

Kokuro spent most of the day in the hot springs. Around lunch time he went down towards the restaurant and ordered a burger. His waitress tried to tell him that she had heard about his victory into Obelisk Blue and was happy for him but he didn't pay her any attention. He watched Sariana duel a couple students before she came up to him.

"And how are you?" she asked.

"Tired," he said.

"Care for a duel?"

"No."

"You don't have the project stopping you any longer, what's the matter?"

"I said no," he replied angrily.

"Maybe I should buy you a drink, we can talk about it," she said. He declined but she bought him and herself one anyway and sat down next to him. "What's with you?" she asked. "You're in Obelisk Blue and you've done it in less time than anyone else here at the academy, you should be proud of your accomplishment."

"I am," he said.

"Then why are you so angry all of a sudden, when we last met you were just annoyed."

"Sonomi and I aren't speaking anymore," he said simply.

"About time," she said.

"Excuse me," Kokuro asked looking over at her.

"You're so much better than her. I don't know why you bothered with her to begin with. You need a real woman in your life, not that stuck up, pompous nitwit."

He glared at her, he didn't want her talking about Sonomi that way, but he didn't want to defend Sonomi either. "I wouldn't call her a pompous nitwit, but stuck up seems to be a good word to describe her."

"If I were you I'd quit thinking about her and move on with your life. You need to stop dwelling on the past and think about the future," she said showing him her Future Fusion card. She handed it to him and he looked down at it.

"What's this for?"

"A congratulations gift, a message to move on with your life, and also a promise."

"A promise?" he asked.

"Yeah, if I let you have it, you have to promise me you'll duel me before the end of the year."

"It's a promise," he said putting the card in his pocket.

"I have to get going, nice chatting." She said slyly. Standing up she walked off towards the back of the restaurant. Shortly after, Kokuro left and returned to the hot springs.

Kokuro spent another three hours in the springs before heading back towards the Obelisk Dorm. It was dark by the time he reached his room. He contemplated texting Yaku but he just didn't feel up for a tour of the dorm. He didn't want to be rude so he sent a quick text, "Tour tomorrow." Yaku gave a reply and Kokuro changed into his night clothes and logged onto the computer. He surfed the internet for a while and sent Yamato and Domid a quick E-mail.

_Hey guys._

_I'm in Obelisk Blue now, I'm still adjusting but I think I'll like it here. Sonomi and I had a huge blowout and we're not speaking any longer. She can't accept the fact that I want to move forward while she wants to stay back, although she's more than capable of going forward with me. Either way, Mia and Yaku are fine. My mom and dad will be coming to Parent's night. I wish Selaya could come, but I know that she'll be busy with the tournament. Wish her luck for me, and tell her I'm sending her a letter soon. Talk to you both later._

_Kokuro._

He signed off and went back to his bed. He read the book that he had brought with him from the beginning of his journey at the academy and before long, found himself asleep again.

* * *

The next morning he woke up feeling calmer than he had the previous day. He looked out his window at the academy and sighed, 'those hot springs really help.' He also remembered that his Psychology teacher had once told the class that if you have a bad day, usually you feel calmer and more accepting the next day. His PDA went off and he grabbed it looking at it.

_Wake up and meet me in the lobby in half an hour. Yaku_

Kokuro got changed into his Obelisk Blue uniform and half an hour later met Yaku down in the lobby. He was a bit surprised to see Kazuki standing next to Yaku. "Hello and welcome to Obelisk Blue," Yaku said. "Today on this tour of the dormitory, we're going to teach you everything you need to know to be an exceptional blue student, and when you're ready, we'll even show you the best location from our dorm to spy on the girls in the other."

"Are…you serious?" Kokuro asked.

"Come on," Kazuki said walking over to him. "You've been down for the past few days, its time we cheered you up. Besides, we can't get caught if no one knows we do it, right?" he asked.

"I don't believe you two!" Kokuro said getting red.

"Don't worry," Yaku said, "You have to first pass the test, but no doubt you will. Anyway, let's begin the tour."

The two older boys showed Kokuro around the dormitory. Between the lobby, the indoor swimming pool, (which even most of the other obelisks had no clue about) and the cafeteria, it was all kind of overwhelming. Finally they took a stair case from the lobby into the basement.

"And just where are we going?" Kokuro asked.

"We're going to see if you're worthy for the," Kazuki paused clearing his throat, "special privilege."

'Oh great,' Kokuro thought. He was a boy, and besides the fact that other weird thoughts ran through his head every day (let's face it, he _is _Kokuro after all,) he couldn't get rid of his boyish ways. However he just wasn't in the mood for this kind of thing right now. Girls made him think of Sonomi, and Sonomi made him think of throwing up.

They were lead down into a special dueling arena where Yaku and Kazuki stood at either side of the doorway and motioned him in. He walked in and had to admit that it was a nice arena. "This arena is used for all sorts of duels," Yaku said.

"But its main purpose is in, 'the test,'" Kazuki said.

"The test?" Kokuro asked.

A tall boy in a blue robe appeared in front of Kokuro, "Greetings," the boy said, his hood hid his face. "Is this the one?" he asked the other two.

"It is," they replied.

"Very well," the boy said. "Please step forward."

Kokuro was lead to the dueling arena while the other boy continued on to the opposite side. From inside his cloak he produced a Duel Disk. "Let the test begin," he said.

"Excuse me?" Kokuro asked looking at his two friends.

"You must survive the test in order to grant access to certain Obelisk Blue secrets," Kazuki said firmly tossing him a Duel Disk.

"Whatever," Kokuro said slipping it on. He inserted his disk and shouted out, "alright, Game on!" 'Game on?' he asked himself. 'Crap that's what Sonomi says. I have to remember not to say that.'

"I'll begin," the hooded student said drawing. "I summon Love Maiden," he announced. A beautiful girl with long brown hair and an expensive looking dress appeared on the field. (400/800) "My turn is over," he said.

"What the?" Kokuro asked looking at the other two

"This is the test," they said as if hypnotized. "You must pass the test or you will lose the very thing that makes you a man."

Kokuro didn't want to think about what that meant and drew his card, "Ok, I summon Skilled White Magician," he announced as his white robbed magician appeared. 'No matter what this 'test' is; this is still a duel and I'm an Obelisk now, I can't fail.' "I'll set a card under the table," he said placing a card. "Now Skilled White Magician, attack his Love Maiden."

"Shame on you for striking a girl," all three shouted at once causing the lights to flicker on and off.

'What the hell?' Kokuro asked. The magician released a beam of magic that struck the girl. She was pushed back and began crying. Hooded Obelisk: (6300)

Skilled White suddenly felt very embarrassed and walked over helping Love Maiden up, "excuse me?" he asked looking at his card.

"Love wins," the three said. Love Maiden took a small glowing heart and inserted it into Skilled White Magician making him blush. He walked back over to Kokuro glaring at him.

"What did I do?" Kokuro asked him. It turned around and began to blush as it saw Love Maiden stand up and wipe herself off. "Eh, I'm just going to end my turn."

"My turn," the Hooded Obelisk said drawing. "I activate Cupids Kiss, and give it to my Love Maiden. Now, Love Maiden, attack!" Love Maiden began to skip towards Skilled White when she tripped and fell. H.O: (5400) Skilled White Magician walked over and helped her up. "Now Skilled White Magician, attack Kokuro!"

"What?" Kokuro asked stunned as his magician released a beam of white light that struck him in chest. Ko: (6300)

"Whenever Love Maiden attacks a monster with a Maiden Counter on it, she takes control of the opponent's monster."

"You're kidding right?" Kokuro asked.

"Love does not joke around," the three said together. "Now then," the hooded one continued, "I equip Love Maiden with Happy Marriage. This makes it so that as long as there is one other monster on my field, Love Maiden gains that monsters attack power," he explained. She changed into a wedding dress and Skilled White had his robes become a silver tuxedo. He placed a wedding band on Love Maiden's finger, causing her to beam with happiness. (2100/800) "I'll set one card under the table and end."

"This is getting annoying," Kokuro said drawing. "Fine, I activate Cost Down, and I'll use it to discard my Black Magician Girl," he said putting her in the Graveyard. 'Sorry Black Magician Girl, but I'll use you later.' "Now I can summon Chaos Command Magician," he announced as his green robed magician appeared. (2400/1900) "Chaos Command Magician, attack Skilled White Magician."

"Activate Trap," the hooded obelisk said. "Defense Maiden, I can now switch your target to my Maiden." The red beam of magic knocked into Love Maiden, causing Skilled White to be very angry with Chaos Command Magician. H.O: (5100) "Now your Chaos Command Magician will fall in love." Love Maiden produced another glowing heart which she blew to Chaos Command Magician in a kiss. As it neared the Magician he used his wand to burst it.

"Sorry, but my Magician likes being a bachelor," Kokuro grinned. "I end my turn," he said.

"As you wish," the boy said drawing a card. "I activate Pot of Greed," he said drawing twice. "Now then, I'll activate a spell card, Till Death. Any monster that has been taken by Cupid's Kiss can no longer be destroyed in battle. I'll also activate Raregold Armor, and give it to Skilled White Magician. I'll switch my Magician on guard and end."

Kokuro placed his hand on his deck and heard a very faint sound, he pulled the card and saw his Kuriboh. He began to get a chill down his spine, he could barely here his Friendship Spirit. 'Is this because Sonomi and I are fighting?' he asked the card. There was a small, faint sound, and he was pretty sure he was right. 'There's nothing I can do about it,' he thought. 'She's the one that needs to get over herself.' He placed Kuriboh in his hand and took another card. 'I can't really do anything right now, so this will have to do.' "I'll place one monster on guard and I end."

"Then it's my turn," the other boy said. "I equip Hopeless Romantic to Love Maiden. Then I'll have my Love Maiden attack your Chaos Command Magician." Love Maiden ran towards Chaos Command Magician and fell. H.O: (4800) She then got up and winked at Chaos Command Magician as Skilled White Magician helped her up. "This allows me to activate one of Hopeless Romantic's abilities. It can either have a monster equipped with Cupid's Kiss attack you directly, or it can do damage to your Life Points equal to the current power of whatever mode your monster may be in. So I'll use that ability to take 2400 Life Points out of you."

"Afraid not," Kokuro said as his Pikeru's Circle of Enchantment appeared around him. "This will prevent the damage I would have taken." He announced as a rune circle appeared around him.

"Fine, I end."

Kokuro drew a card and smirked. "Alright, I'm activating Premature Burial he said as he slid the card into his disk. Ko: (5500) "Now come on back Black Magician Girl," he announced as the Black Magician Girl appeared on the field giving off a twirl. "You see? I have my own type of maiden," he said as Black Magician Girl winked at the Obelisk.

"It's too bad you can't do anything."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Kokuro said taking Mage Power and placing it on Black Magician Girl. (2500/2200) "Now you can't destroy my Magician Girl. I end my turn."

"But you've lead a whole new possibility to exist," the hooded obelisk said. He drew and chuckled. "I activate Cute Flirting. This allows me to put a Maiden Token on one of your monsters." The maiden blew a kiss at Black Magician Girl who began to feel happy inside.

"Oh come on," he said.

"Now Love Maiden, attack Black Magician Girl," he announced as the Maiden ran towards Black Magician Girl. She tripped and fell and the Black Magician Girl went over to help her up. H.O: (4400) "Now I can take control of your Black Magician Girl, and not only that, Hopeless Romantic activates, allowing me to strike you down with your own Magician Girl. The Magician Girl ran over and blasted a pink ray of light at Kokuro knocking him backwards. Ko: (3000) "It's your turn," he said.

Kokuro drew his card and smirked, "It's time for your Maiden to have a Change of Heart," he said showing the card.

"No way!" the Obelisk gasped.

"Now I take control of your Maiden, and I'll sacrifice her and my face down Spirit of the Harp to summon Buster Blader," he announced as his strong Warrior appeared on the field. (2600/2300)

"Now, I'm willing to bet that that Till Death has to stay on the field in order for my Skilled White to remain indestructible, correct?"

"That's right," the obelisk growled.

"Now then, Chaos Command Magician, attack Skilled White Magician!" The Chaos Command Magician shot a ruby colored magic blast at Skilled White destroying him.

"And now," he said pointing to Buster Blader, "Attack…" he saw his Black Magician Girl and sighed. "I'll just end," he said.

"Love prevailed!" the other two boys shouted triumphantly. Kokuro glared at them and they quickly shut up and took a step back.

"My turn," the boy said drawing. "I'll summon the Unhappy Girl in attack mode," he said as a girl in a tattered blue dress appeared. (400/300) "And since she's so unhappy, I'll give her the Axe of Despair," he said as an axe appeared in her hand. (1400/300) "Your move."

"I'll give her a reason to be unhappy," Kokuro said drawing. "Buster Blader, attack!" Buster Blader flew forward and slashed the girl across the chest but she simply fell to the ground crying. H.O: (3200) Buster Blader suddenly felt depressed and sat down, dropping his sword.

"When my Unhappy Girl is attacked while in attack mode, she isn't destroyed, also, as long as she's on the field, any monster that attacks her can no longer attack."

"Good thing I still have my Chaos Command Magician," he said as his Chaos Command Magician blasted the girl with ruby colored ball of magic. H.O: (1200) "My turn is over once I play Mystical Space Typhoon and destroy Mage Power," he said as his Mage Power shattered and Black Magician Girl returned to normal stats. (2000/1700)

The obelisk drew a card and put it in his hand before taking another, "I switch my Unhappy Girl on guard and give her the Heart of Clear Water. I'll also switch my Black Magician Girl and end."

Kokuro drew his card and smirked, "Pot of Greed," he said drawing. "I'll summon Ebon Magician Curran," he said as his small magician in the black skirt holding the whip appeared. "I set one under the table and I end my turn."

The obelisk drew and sighed. "I switch the Magician Girl and attack."

"Reveal Shadow Spell," he called out, 'Sorry Black Magician Girl.'

The Magician Girl was bound by black chains which stopped her from attacking. (1300/1700) "I end."

"Then I draw and my Magician takes away 600 of your Life Points," Kokuro said smirking as the magician took out her whip and whipped the hooded obelisk. H.O: (600) "I end." The obelisk drew and waved his hand passing. Kokuro drew and the let the small magician whip his opponent again. H.O: (0) "Looks like I passed," Kokuro said grinning. The holograms vanished and the Obelisk sighed.

"Indeed," the Obelisk said. The lights shut off and they were in pitch black. "The password," his voice echoed. "Is _The Naked Eye._" The lights came back on but the Obelisk had vanished.

"Where'd he go?" Kokuro asked the two.

"Follow us," they said. They lead him out of the room and lead him up back into the dorm rooms. When they got to the third floor, they stopped at a door and knocked once.

A voice was heard from the other side of the door, "Present the password," it said.

Kokuro was pushed forward, shrugging he said, "The naked eye."

The door opened and he was allowed in. It was an Obelisk Blue with short blue hair. "Come," he said taking him over to the window. "Use these and tell me what you see," he said handing Kokuro a pair of binoculars.

Being a complete moron and completely forgetting what Yaku and Kazuki told him earlier, he looked through the binoculars and saw a girl in the Obelisk Blue Female Dorm in nothing but her bra putting a nightshirt on. Kokuro flung himself back in shock with a giant look of anger on his face.

"What the hell!" he shouted at them.

The three of them just began laughing at Kokuro and couldn't stop for quite a while, meanwhile Kokuro was fuming. Yaku handed him a tissue as he laughed at him. "You so fell for it," he laughed.

"I think that one topped yours Yaku," Kazuki said laughing his head off.

"He certainly earned it," the other Obelisk laughed. "Though its not tournament worthy, the Lovely Maiden deck is quite a toughie to beat."

"You…you're the hooded freak I just dueled," Kokuro asked in shock.

"Life is full of mysteries, isn't it Kokuro?" he asked.

"You guys suck," he said grumbling.

"And now it's time for the next part of your initiation," he said. He took the Lovely Maiden deck and handed it to Kokuro.

"What's this for?" he asked.

"Each year, a group of obelisks have gotten together to do this little lecherous trick to some new Obelisk. It's like a final right of passage," the student explained. "However, whoever was tricked then has a duty to fulfill. As the year goes on, he has to pick one person who is selected to join Obelisk Blue, and duel them using the Lovely Maiden deck, getting them ready for this moment. If they pass the test, then it's their job to take them to this room and do what I just did to you, and force them to except the Lovely Maiden deck. If they fail…well, I'm not sure. No one's ever failed."

"So I suppose if you fail, you're going to have to stay back a year, that or get another Obelisk to follow this right of passage," Yaku said grinning.

"Not funny!" Kokuro said.

"There is one thing though," Kazuki said getting up to them. "What happens here stays between us, otherwise expulsion is in order. Also, if for whatever reason you get dropped from Obelisk Blue, when you regain your title, you will still be responsible for continuing the Lovely Maiden tradition. If you don't agree to this, we will send an anonymous report to Master Kaiba explaining that you were seen from inside this room spying on the girls. Wouldn't want that would we?"

Kokuro sighed and took the Lovely Maiden Deck. "Do us proud," the other Obelisk said as he let them out. They began walking down the hallway and Kokuro was grumbling.

"Oh come on, you can't say you weren't a bit excited," Yaku said nudging him.

"You guys suck," he said again pocketing the deck.

"Sure we do," Kazuki said laughing. "Sure we do."

They dropped him off at his room and then left him to his own business. Kokuro flopped down on his bed and took out what he wanted to call the "Lecherous deck." He flipped through it kind of impressed. 'It is a decent deck, but it has some holes in it that need to be filled,' he thought. He then slapped himself shuddering. 'I hate them,' he thought. He slid the deck into his drawer and went off to take a shower.

Half an hour later he emerged from his bathroom and slid on some casual clothes. He was wearing a red jacket and a grey shirt following blue jeans. He grabbed his old card key and he emptied the contents of his backpack onto the bed. He slipped out of his room and headed towards the Ra dorm. He made his way slowly into the dorm, a few people passed him but none seemed to recognize him right away. By the time they did he was gone.

He had made it into his old hallway and headed towards his room. He was about half way there when the door opened. He stood cautious for a minute and sighed quietly to himself when Sonomi came out. She turned his way and the two locked eyes for a minute.

"Don't let me give Hikari a reason to expel you," she said glaring at him.

"I'm sure it would just ruin your day," he said walking over to her.

"It's evening you idiot," she glared. "Though it would make tomorrow a good day."

"I'm so sure," he said as he walked past her and headed to the room.

"And where are you going?" she asked.

"In here to grab my things," he answered.

"A likely story," she said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Mia's not in there," she answered. "And I doubt she would want anything to do with you."

"Excuse me!" he yelled turning around to look at her. "And what is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"You always liked the idea of her sleeping below you," she said getting in his face.

He realized what she really meant, but didn't bother mentioning it, instead he said, "Maybe because she was better company than the other person I used to hang out with," he retorted.

"If that person wasn't working hard to get where she was, maybe she would have been better company. But that's right; people who slack off don't understand that."

"Poor you," he said. "You had choices, just like I did. You choose to stay back. It's your own fault and you need to learn that you can't control me, and you never will."

"I don't want to control you," she said back at him. "I don't even want to know you."

"Good, once I'm done getting my stuff, you won't know me."

"The only reason your stuff is still in there is because for some reason that only God knows, Mia didn't let me throw it away. Other wise it would have been trashed the minute you left."

"Well aren't you sweet," he said taking the card and sliding it through the door. He walked in and Sonomi stood in the doorway. He grabbed his things that were in drawer, and the things he had hanging on the bed. He threw them into his backpack and walked past her into the hall. "Good riddance," he said walking out.

"There's only one thing I have left to say to you," she said to him.

He turned around to look at her with narrowed eyes, "What?"

"You're a crappy kisser," she then went inside and slammed the door.

He stared at the door awestruck for a moment before yelling, "As if you would know! I'm sure being Miss Personality you get kissed all the time!"

He stormed off as Mia peaked out from the corner she had been hiding in, "Kokuro…Sonomi…" she said softly, tears falling down her face.

* * *

Created Cards:

Till Death: Continuous Trap. A monster controlled through the effect of Cupid's Kiss cannot be destroyed in battle.

Hopeless Romantic: Equip Spell. This card can only be equipped to Love Maiden. When Love Maiden is damaged by an opponent you can have a monster equipped with Cupid's Kiss attack you directly, or you can do damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to the current power of whatever mode their monster is in.

Cute Flirting: Spell Card. This card can only be used when Love Maiden is on your side of the field. Place one Love Counter on a monster on your opponent's side of the field.


	38. Troubled Spirits

Sdrive: Disclaimer.

A/N: And for those of you who have known me since the beginning of my fic career, the famous Blue Book makes a Cameo. Also, sorry for the late update. I couldn't upload the document into FFN for some reason.

* * *

Two days had passed since the fight in the hallway. Kokuro and Sonomi hadn't seen each other and they couldn't have even cared. Kokuro was lying in his bed sleeping, it was almost noon, when his PDA went off. He turned over to grab it and read the message.

_Please meet me outside our dorm. Mia._

Kokuro let out an annoyed sigh and replied with, _"If Sonomi is there then forget it."_

A few minutes later he got his reply. _She's not. It'll just be you and me._

Kokuro dragged himself out of bed to go meet her. She was sitting by the front steps of the dorm when he got to her. "What's up?" he asked.

"I just want to spend some time with you," she said getting up taking his hand. "Come on."

They went off to start walking and for a while, walked in silence. Kokuro enjoyed holding her hand, and it seemed to relax some of the tension he had built up the previous few days. As they walked they saw a bunch of girls walking around with skirts in plastic bags, each matching the color of the dorm they were in, some darker, while others were lighter.

"What's with the dresses?" he asked.

"They're getting ready for Parent's night," she said. "Us girls that have been measured have to pick up our dresses today or wait for them to be delivered the morning before. Come to think of it, have you picked out a date yet?"

"No," he replied.

"Have you even gotten measured?" she asked.

He nodded, "I felt I should at least look good for my parents."

"Well that's good," she said.

He looked down at her and he finally couldn't hold it in any longer, "I don't like the fact that you haven't smiled once since we met up," he said.

"I can't smile any longer," she said looking down.

"Why not?" he asked.

"My heart is broken," she said softly.

"Did your boyfriend break up with you?" he asked as his eyebrow rose.

"Worse," she said. "My best friends hate each other. I haven't been able to smile since you two started fighting; at least not real ones. Sonomi hasn't smiled either."

"As if she ever really did," he said scoffing.

"Cut it out!" she yelled at him tightening the grip on his hand.

"Great, she's turned you against me," he said annoyed.

"No one's turned me against you, or her, you both are turning yourselves against each other. You may not care to realize it but it's destroying all of us! What will it take to get you both to realize that?" she screamed in frustration before breaking down in tears.

"I didn't do anything wrong," he said releasing her hand and rubbing her shoulders. "She's the one with the problem…"

"Who cares!" Mia yelled. Kokuro began to talk but she cut him off, "I don't care who's at fault, who started it, or anything! I want things back the way they were! I'm not saying you have to go back to being a Ra, but I don't want you and her fighting all the time!"

"She has to stop blaming me for everything that's happened," he said.

"And you have to stop being so stubborn!" she said not yelling, but still frustrated. "You keep saying she has to stop, she keeps saying you have to stop. One of you has to realize it sooner or later or else you'll hate each other forever."

"I don't like fighting with her anymore than you do," he said. "And I don't hate her…" he said getting depressed. "I'm just so fed up with her thinking I'm a slacker. Deep down though…if it came down to it…I'm sure I'd protect her with my life…"

"Then talk to her!" Mia begged. "Say you're sorry, say you'll keep in contact with her, say you love her! I don't care what you say just say something!"

"I'm not sorry, I'll keep in contact with her if she wants to, and I certainly don't love her," he answered with annoyance in his last words.

"Do you love me?" she asked.

"Yo…you have a boyfriend," he said shocked.

"Details," she said looking into his eyes. "Do you love me? As a friend or more is irrelevant; Do. You. Love me?"

He stuttered before finally answering, "Yes," he looked down.

"Then do this for me," she said. "If you value my friendship, then please do this."

"I…I'm not sure I can…" he said upset.

"If you don't do this, I won't be able to look at either of you without being broken hearted. I love both of you, from the bottom of my heart. Combined I love you both more than my boyfriend. You need to realize this, I've tried to talk Sonomi out of it, she's won't budge. You're my…no, _our_ last hope. If you don't do this, I can't say what will happen."

"If Sonomi's not willing to compromise with you then there's obviously nothing I can do about it," he said.

The words hung there for a minute before Mia quietly said, "So you're not even going to try."

"I'm afraid I don't see the point in fighting a losing battle," he said sadly. "This isn't like a game of Duel Monsters…this is life."

"Then I guess it's really over," she said a little stunned.

"I don't want to lose you as a friend," he said. "Please don't leave me like Sonomi did."

"I won't leave you," she said. "But I can only go so far before I break."

Kokuro looked down at the ground. He began shivering as he spoke, "Would…would you be my date to Parent's Night?" he asked.

She looked at him and sighed, "I have a date to decide my date," she replied quietly.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Don't worry about it," she said. "If things don't work out, I'll message you and let you know." She headed off in the opposite direction.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I need to go lie in bed and cry," she said bluntly. "After all this time, I thought I wouldn't have to cry again, but you two have pushed me too far."

"I am sorry, if for nothing else, than that I hurt you."

"You didn't intentionally hurt me," she whispered. "I was just a victim." She walked off and left Kokuro to stand there by himself feeling like the worst person in the world.

After a while, he began to head back towards the Obelisk dorm. As he walked, Yaku found him and ran over to him, "Hey, I have a friend of mine that I would love for you to duel," he said. "Truth is, he used to beat me all the time and even though I'm better than him now, I want him to face off against you so you can pound him into the dirt. So, wanna help out your buddy."

Kokuro glanced over at him, and then looked forward again, "I could vent some anger right now," he said simply.

"Oook," Yaku said.

* * *

Kokuro was in the lead of the duel, he had 5200 Life Points and his opponent had 3400 Life Points. Kokuro had his Skilled Black Magician on the field while his opponent had nothing but a face down card. "Skilled Black attack!" he called out. The Skilled Black Magician shot a black magic beam at the opponent hitting him. O.B: (1500) "My turn is over," he said.

The Obelisk drew, "I activate Black Hole," he announced as a black vortex appeared in the center of the field and sucked Kokuro's Skilled Black Magician and his face down Apprentice Magician in. "Now I'll summon D.D. Warrior Lady," he announced as a woman in black clothes appeared on the field holding a light sword. (1500/1600) "Attack Kokuro!" he called out.

The woman vanished and suddenly struck Kokuro in the back with her light sword making his knees slightly fold underneath him. Ko: (3700) "Not bad," Kokuro said.

"I'll set one under the table and end," he said as the brown backed card appeared on the field.

"My move," Kokuro said drawing the card. When he looked at it he was astonished, 'It's…Kuriboh,' he thought looking at it. 'But I didn't hear anything, not even a faint cry like last time. I didn't sense it at all.' As he stood there in shock two thoughts began running through his head.

_Kokuro was stunned, "Yes! How do you know about that?"_

_Yugi simply chuckled, "I could just tell. Listen, what you are hearing, it's because you and someone close to you share a Friendship Spirit."_

"_A Friendship Spirit? What's that?"_

"_A Friendship Spirit only appears when two or more people share a great friendship with each other. Usually a Friendship Spirit represents a Duel Monster that each person likes very much."_

"_The Kuriboh's," Kokuro gasped._

"_Is that your Friendship Spirit?" Yugi asked chuckling._

And then just earlier in the day with Mia.

"_No one's turned me against you, or her, you both are turning yourselves against each other. You may not care to realize it but it's destroying all of us! What will it take to get you both to realize that?" she screamed in frustration before breaking down in tears._

"Mia…Mia was right," Kokuro said looking down at the small Kuriboh.

"What do you mean?" Yaku asked.

"Sorry guys," Kokuro said getting off the field. "I have something I have to check."

"We're in the middle of a duel," the other Obelisk said.

"Then I forfeit," Kokuro said clearing his disk not caring anymore. "I've got something more important to check on." He ran off leaving the two to just stand there bewildered.

* * *

At the Female Obelisk Dorm, Kokuro was being stared down by many female students, and he wasn't too happy about it. "Just what are you doing here?" one of them asked. "You may be new to this whole Obelisk thing, but there's a reason the _girl's _dorm is separate."

"I'm sorry," Kokuro said getting nervous before his face turned serious, "but I have to get in there and speak with Akuma."

"Just because you beat her in that duel doesn't mean you get to go in there and have your way with her," the girl said.

"Why does everyone think stuff like that about me?" he practically shouted in frustration.

"Don't take it wrong," another girl said. "But all guys are like that, even if they are hotties."

Kokuro wasn't sure if she was calling him a hottie or not but he also didn't have time to care, "I just need to talk to her for thirty seconds," he said. "You can guide me to her room if you want, you can spy on me the entire way, you can even tie me up, handcuff me, whatever, to make sure I'm not doing anything, but it's really important that I see her."

"I don't think he's lying," the second girl said.

The first girl looked at him for a moment and it took Kokuro a moment to realize where he had seen her face before. She was the girl he had caught putting her shirt on, 'Oh please don't be a mind reader,' he thought as silently as he could.

She glared at him for a moment before sighing, "Fine, but you better make it quick." She said.

"Thank you," he said bowing.

"But I'm going to accompany you," she said.

"Alright," he said as she led him into the dorm. As they were walking he asked, "So, what's your name?"

"Rataiga," she answered giving him a look. "Why?" she asked.

"No reason," he said looking down praying that he wasn't going red.

"Are you hiding something from me?" she asked.

"Nope, nothing at all," he said nervously.

She would have pressed more but they were already at Akuma's room. She knocked on the door and waited for the answer. A few seconds later Akuma walked out and was startled to see the two of them there. "Kokuro?" she asked surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"You have thirty seconds," Rataiga said.

"Thirty seconds for what?" Akuma asked.

"I need to know," Kokuro said stepping up to her, "that book you told me about, did it mention anything about Friendship Spirits?"

"Friendship Spirits?" Akuma asked as she thought about it for a moment.

"Twenty seconds," Rataiga said.

"If it did, I need to borrow it, it's an emergency," he said with seriousness in his voice.

"Fifteen," Rataiga said.

"Oh will you shut up!" Kokuro yelled shocking her.

"Come to think of it," Akuma said acting as though nothing had happened. "I think it did. Let me go grab it," she said as she walked into her room. She went to her bookshelf and found it next to a blue book titled, "The Big Blue Book of Anger Management." Completely ignoring the blue book, she grabbed the Duel Spirit book and went back out to find Kokuro arguing with Rataiga.

"No, she went to get me something, I'm not leaving," he said to her.

"I believe this is what you're looking for," Akuma said handing him the book.

Kokuro gave a small smile as he looked at it, and then up at Akuma bowing, "Thank you, I'll return it later."

"No rush," she smiled. Rataiga began leading Kokuro out when Akuma called out, "Oh and by the way." Kokuro turned to look at her curiously, "The spirits say they don't hold anything against you, they were happy with the outcome."

Kokuro, for the first time in days, smiled and nodded. Rataiga pulled on his sleeve and lead him out of the dorm. "I don't want to see you around here unless you're returning that book," she said.

"Fine," he agreed. He walked off and she went back into her dorm.

It was a little later, and Kokuro was sitting inside of his room looking through the book. For some reason the book didn't have a table of contents, which he thought was extremely odd. He learned quite a bit about Duel Spirits as he skimmed the book looking for anything that had to do with Friendship Spirits. Finally he found a chapter a bit past the middle of the book.

_Friendship Spirits._

_Friendship Spirits are a lot more complicated to understand than regular Duel Spirits. So therefore not much is known about them; however it should be noted that since they are spirits none the less, they should be studied. There are some basic rules to these unique Spirits that are understood. First and foremost, Friendship Spirits don't appear to everyone, and aren't always in the form of Duel Monsters, though for some reason, they are most commonly being talked of as being Duel Monsters._

_What is meant by 'being talked of,' is where things get complicated. Everything in this small section has been learned through interviews. As the first basic rule, it appears that Friendship Spirits can only be seen by two people, or occasionally, a group of people that all have a very strong interest. This means that a person with a Duel Spirit can not see the Friendship Spirit, and it would also seem that unless a person in the group is gifted, they can not see Duel Spirits. That is what makes this section complicated. We have gathered together as many interviews as we could, and we have first put together what seems to be the most common among our interviews as the basic rules for a Friendship Spirit. We then go into some other separate aspects of them that we got from interviews that could be interpreted in quite a few ways._

_First off, As said earlier, only people with a great friendship with each other can see Friendship Spirits. That is the foremost rule. Over every interview, we were told that these people would do anything for those they had their Friendship Spirit with. However this isn't always the case._

_In a few interviews, it was revealed that some of the people that heard the spirits, weren't great friends immediately, but as their time together went on, they're spirits became clearer, as did their friendship. So it is quite obvious that the bigger the friendship, the clearer the spirit is. Some people said that it looked like nothing more than a floating spirit, while others said they were as clear and real as a KaibaCorp. Hologram. And to one group, they said they could even touch their spirit, even though no one outside of the group could see it._

_We have to come to the conclusion that as the friendship grows, so does the spirit. This leads us to believe that the positive energy released in friendship with one another fuels the existence of these spirits. It also leads us to believe that the opposite is also true. A lack of positive energy, can in turn weaken a spirit, and in a sense starve it. Though we could not understand how a break in friendship later on would warrant the ability to even obtain a spirit earlier in a friendship, it is the most likely course of action. If a friendship was to break completely, but then come back together overtime, it is unsure of what would happen to the spirit. Would the spirit be visible to only those who stayed friends, if it were a group, or would it be gone forever? These questions are, at best, unclear._

It went on but Kokuro had the information he needed, 'My fight with Sonomi truly is destroying us,' he thought weakened. 'But not just us, but our Kuriboh's as well.' His legs felt wobbly, and if he weren't sitting he was positive he would have collapsed. 'I don't want to do that to my Kuriboh…to Cinnamon,' he thought pulling out his deck and taking his Kuriboh and Hane Kuriboh out. 'Come on guys, give me a sign, show me it's not too late. I don't want to keep fighting with Sonomi if it means I don't get to see you guys any longer.'

Kokuro stared at the cards, and heard the faintest of noises as a thought of him, Sonomi, and Mia ran through his head. 'They're not gone!' he thought getting excited. 'But why not?' he asked himself. 'Not that I'm complaining, but it doesn't make any sense.' The very faint spirit of Kuriboh appeared in front of him and touched his head before vanishing. In that small moment, Kokuro had a memory of Mia run through his head. 'Of course,' he thought. 'Mia is still trying to hold on, she's still trying to be friends with both of us. She's the only reason we haven't lost them.'

Kokuro stood up with new determination, 'I have to do something.'

* * *

"Master Kaiba will see you now," the secretary told Kokuro. He nodded and walked in slowly and nervously.

"You'll have to make this short Samé," Kaiba said. "I'm busy with something important."

"Forgive me," he said walking over to the desk.

Kaiba raised an eyebrow as he looked at Kokuro. Kokuro was in his grey shirt and blue jeans, he had his Obelisk Blue uniform hung over his shoulder, "Why aren't you in uniform?" he asked. "Granted it is vacation so you're not required to wear it, but if you're going to come into my office, you should at least look professional."

"Well, quite frankly, I've come to return it," he said placing it on Kaiba's desk before sitting down.

"You're what?" Kaiba asked raising his eyebrow once more.

"Master Kaiba, I am truly honored that you think I am Obelisk Blue material. I don't want you to think for a second that I'm ungrateful, or that I'm not ready. When I accepted it, I truly believed that I was able to handle the consequences, and I still do…to an extent?"

"And what extent is that?" Kaiba asked.

"I didn't count on it destroying my two best friends," he said seriously.

"What do you mean by that?" Kaiba asked.

"Ever since I told Mia and Sonomi about my upgrade, Sonomi and I have fought constantly. We can't even look at each other without thinking ill of each other. That's not what I wanted when I became an Obelisk."

"So all because of Hinote, you're going to give up your rank?"

"It's slightly more complicated than that," Kokuro said, "But when you get right down to it…yes. Her and Mia."

"Mr. Samé, I can't make you choose to stay in Obelisk Blue, but let me make this perfectly clear for you," Kaiba said holding his head up with his hands and staring right at Kokuro. "If you choose to go back to Ra Yellow, you will not be allowed to move back into Obelisk Blue until next year. Even if you were to pass the third quarterly exam, you would be unable to advance. Are you seriously willing to give up your rank as an Obelisk Blue, just for your two friends in Ra? One of which doesn't even like you any longer?"

Kokuro took a deep breath, "I expected this to happen, and I told myself that no matter what, I wanted to go back into Ra Yellow," he said. "As long as I can be placed back into the same room, I want to go back to Ra Yellow."

"What if I can't allow you back into that room?" Kaiba asked. "Will you stay in Obelisk?"

"I'll find some way to work it out. If I can't be admitted into that room the legal way, then I'll be in that room the illegal way," Kokuro said determined. 'Oh man, I can't believe I just said that,' he thought nervously. 'And why the hell would I tell _him _this! Kokuro, that was dumb…even for you.'

"You're obviously very determined," Kaiba said staring at him. "However, I can't allow you making threats like that to me. That is disobedience and can not be tolerated in this school."

Kokuro looked down and sighed, "I understand."

"I should ship you out right now," Kaiba said glaring. "Unfortunately, for me, your Parent's have already purchased their Parent's Night tickets. And my rules state that they can not be refunded unless they, for whatever reason, are unable to make it and can't find a donor for their tickets. So, it would appear that I'm left in quite a situation aren't I?" he asked. "In order to be fair to your parents, I would have to let them come to Parent's Night and then take you home that night."

"Where do you want me to stay until Parent's Night?" Kokuro asked grimly.

"Not so fast," Kaiba said. "It's not good to jump to conclusions." Kokuro looked up at him while Kaiba sat thinking intently. "Most parents come to Parent's Night because they think that they won't be seeing their kids for another semester, and the only reason you are being so rebellious is out of loyalty to your friends. Plus the fact that you never did turn in your key card, I can't honestly keep you out of that room."

"So, what are you planning?" he asked.

"I'm thinking that there is only one true way to settle this," Kaiba said. "You'll have an Exhibition Duel. Win, and you can stay in the Academy, back in your old room. Lose and your Parent's take you home come Parent's Night."

"So, all I have to do is win a duel?" he asked.

"It won't be that easy," Kaiba said. "Knowing your skills, I can't let it be a regular duel, so I'm going to make it a Double Duel with special modifications. You have one day, that's up until the duel Saturday to select your partner, if you can't find one before then, I'm going to assign you one. Whomever you choose will not be expelled should you lose, so you don't have to worry about that when making your decision. You should note that I'm not going to make it an easy team for you to defeat, so you should choose your partner wisely. Until then, I'm going to permit you access to your old room, seeing as how it's too short notice to find you a new room. Plus putting you up in the open room with Ritsuzen would probably lead to one of you killing the other, which is not such a great idea…unless you're killing Ritsuzen."

Kokuro had to smirk slightly at that, "I'm against killing…but he certainly deserves something along those lines."

"Seriously now, remember, you have until Saturday at twelve to find a partner."

"Yes sir," Kokuro said standing up slowly.

"You can access your Obelisk room once more to grab your things, and then your code will be deactivated."

"I won't need to, I already have my stuff in the office," he said.

"Very well." Kokuro began to exit the room, "Samé."

"Yes sir," he said looking over at Kaiba.

"I'm not supposed to say this, since it would be considered promoting your complete lack of respect to me…but for your sake I hope you win. Since you came around, I've obtained such a nice leash for Hikari," he said grinning.

Kokuro looked at Kaiba and chuckled a little, "thank you Master Kaiba."

As Kokuro exited Kaiba sat back in his chair sighing, 'I can't make exceptions to the rules, not even for you,' Kaiba thought to himself. 'I really hope you win this Samé, you're instrumental to my plans.'

* * *

Sonomi was laying on her bed, reading a book in peace. Mia went to the hot springs to relax and she was taking advantage of the quiet. Her peacefulness ended when there was a light tapping on the door. 'Mia must have forgotten her key card,' she thought as she went over and opened the door. As soon as she saw Kokuro's depressed face she glared, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I came back," he said slowly. His backpack was at his side, and his small suitcase was next to it.

"And what does that mean?" she asked angrily.

"I turned in my Obelisk uniform and told Master Kaiba that I wanted to come back to Ra Yellow."

"What!" she asked shocked. "Why in the world did you do that?"

He looked down at the ground, "I don't want to fight with you," he said almost in a whisper. "I don't want my being in Obelisk to break us up."

Sonomi gave off a small mock laugh and a roll escaped her eyes, "I don't know how to tell you this but I have no intention of being all buddy, buddy with you just because you turned in your blue jacket for a yellow one. You lost that chance a long time ago."

"You probably won't be seeing me for much longer anyway," he said.

"I'll admit that this move was certainly unexpected, and if I wasn't so pissed at you I'd say that it was almost admirable, but I really don't care about you any longer."

"I just need to borrow this room again until Saturday at twelve," he said.

"What happens then?" she asked annoyed.

"It's when I get kicked off the island," he replied.

Her eyebrow raised, "Kicked off the island?"

"When I was talking to Master Kaiba, I kind of went too far, and now I have a duel at twelve on Saturday to determine whether or not I get to stay at the Academy, or I get expelled."

"What did you say to him that got him as upset at you as I am?" she asked almost entertained.

"I told him that if I couldn't come back to this room through his way, I'd find a way to come back with you and Mia without him."

Her eye's widened a little, "You seriously said that."

"Something to that extent," he said. "He told me I'll be in a Double Duel with special modifications or something, and that I have one day to pick my partner, or else I get assigned one. Even though she wouldn't get expelled, I don't want to put Mia through it, and I don't necessarily want to ask Kazuki or Yaku, that would seem like cheating to me. And I know you wouldn't help me, you might have if we were still friends, but obviously you still hate me."

She stared coldly at Kokuro, 'He's so pitiful,' she thought. A moment passed before she said, "Get in."

He looked up but didn't say anything. He grabbed his things and walked into the room. He slid his stuff into his old bunk bed and sighed. "Thanks," he said.

"I can't say that I really want you to stay here," Sonomi said looking at him. "A huge part of me wants you kicked off this island, so I won't have to deal with you."

"I understand," Kokuro said softly.

"However…" He looked over at her and she sighed, "If I just let you get crushed without facing you once more, I would be taking the easy way out of dealing with our problem and would in turn be no better than you."

"What are you saying?" he asked her.

"Prepare your deck tonight," she said. "Make it the best you possibly can, because tomorrow at noon, I'm having my own Exhibition Duel with you."

"But why?" he asked. "It's a waste."

"I want to test your skills since we last faced off," she said. "I want to see just how strong you've truly become."

"It doesn't matter," Kokuro said looking down. "Come Saturday I'm probably going to be getting expelled anyway."

"Listen to me damnit!" she said slapping him hard in the face. He grabbed his cheek and looked at her with a mixture of shock and anger in his eyes. "Can you honestly say that either way you would be happy knowing you never tested your skills against me one last time?"

"It doesn't matter to me any longer," he said. "You and I both know it would be a duel full of anger. Neither of us would be playing for fun."

"Did we play for fun the last time we dueled?" she asked.

"Well…no," he said.

"Then look at it as me sizing you up, just like I did last time. I was being horrible to you then and it's the same now. Just don't expect me to go all soft like I did last time. You've hurt me Kokuro, more than I ever cared to admit."

Kokuro was stunned by what she said, "really?"

"Of course really," she yelled. "Other than Mia you were the only friend I had here."

"What about Katsu?" Kokuro asked.

"I didn't even know about her being here until the project. For the longest time I thought it was going to be us three here at the academy. And when you moved on, you made me remember everything I was taught; that friendship never lasts and if it does then it's obviously fake."

"Who in the world taught you that?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter," she said. "The point is you made me believe it again, just as I was beginning to think it wasn't true."

"If you didn't have such crappy views on ranks…" Kokuro began.

"Excuse me for being myself Kokuro," she said. "Do you want me to go to repent? Don't expect me too because it's just who I am. You have your views just like I have mine. We don't agree on them and we probably never will; but what we can both agree on is that we dueled our hardest in what could be our final duel. We can prove ourselves to each other and through it, although we may not be friends in the end, we can still have a respect for each other as duelists."

Kokuro looked at her deeply for a moment before sighing, "I suppose having a respect for each other is better than nothing at all." He took a deep breath before looking at her again, "Fine then, we're on."

"Good," Sonomi said turning. "I've never told you this, but besides my _responsibility _to face you again to defeat you, I've always wanted to just because you were there."

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"Even though we were friends…I always felt that you were my rival. Someone whom I could truly push to their absolute best, someone who I knew would never duel anything less than they were capable of. I've always looked forward to the day we could match up in the arena again…and I'm going to get my wish."

"Maybe this duel won't be so bad after all," Kaiba said, his mood lightning ever so slightly.

"Maybe," she replied. She was about to go prepare her deck when she stopped and looked back. "Mia told me what you said to her; about how even though we're fighting you don't truly hate me, and that you'd even give your life for me."

"I did say that," Kokuro confirmed.

"…I don't hate you either," she finally admitted. "But you hurt me…and you hurt me badly. I can't just forget this kind of pain."

"I never thought my trying to be the best I could be would result in this," he sighed.

"And I never thought I would ever have a chance to find someone I could call my friend…I guess we're both wrong to an extent." She grabbed her deck, and walked out of the room.


	39. Rematch! Kokuro Vs Sonomi!

Sdrive: Sorry for the ubberly long wait. I've been busy with my play at college, and with finals coming up, it's been pretty stressful. Hope you all enjoy this early update. Also, since the booster is coming before the chapter where they're first mentioned comes out, let me just say it now. If you don't think Sonomi's deck is going to be highly updated with the release of the new Volcano Monsters, think again. She will rule even more than ever. Her real life deck, with the exception of one card, is one of my strongest decks. I can't wait to see how much stronger it'll be with the Volcano cards. Hehehe.

* * *

Sonomi and Kokuro had spent the rest of the night that they were awake preparing their decks. Kokuro woke up late that morning, at around ten o'clock, grabbed a Ra uniform, and went into the bathroom to shower. While he was showering he thought he heard someone open the door but shrugged it off. When he got out he noticed that his Ra Uniform was missing and his clothes from the previous night were sitting there. 

He changed into them quickly, not with the intent of keeping them on, and walked out of the room to see Mia standing behind Sonomi, holding his uniform. "What are you doing with my uniform?" he asked annoyed.

Sonomi was about to speak when Mia butted in, "I stole it because I was so happy that you were back in our room and I just had to get a smell of the man I love," she said with a grin on her face.

Sonomi and Kokuro sweat dropped as Sonomi told him the real reason, "If I think you've proved yourself at the end of the match, I'll give you back your uniform, until then, you duel like that."

"Why should I?" he asked.

"Because even though I know you're a decent duelist, I'm going as hard on you as I did Jordan." Kokuro and Mia's eyes widened.

"But you destroyed him as though he was nothing," Kokuro said shaking.

"Technically he is nothing," Sonomi said smirking. "But that's beside the point. If I throw your uniform back to you, you'll know you've earned my respect."

"And your friendship right?" Mia asked hopefully.

"Friendship will be a while coming," she said seriously.

Mia looked a little depressed but Kokuro could hear an almost clear Kuriboh call. They each looked at their shoulders and could see Kuriboh a bit more clearly.

"I haven't seen Kuriboh in a while," Sonomi said out loud.

"I borrowed a book from Akuma that explained the Friendship Spirits a bit," Kokuro explained. "Our positive energy as friends is what feeds Kuriboh's spirit. While we were unable to stand each other's face, it was like our negative energy was starving it. I think the only reason its still around is because Mia stayed friends with both of us."

"Still, it used to be a lot clearer," Mia said.

"Kokuro and I are still on bad terms," Sonomi said to her. "But if I had to guess, the fact that the air around us isn't boiling with complete negativity means that we're not starving it as badly as we were." She looked over at Kokuro, "You said you borrowed a book that explained Friendship Spirits?"

"Yeah," he said going over to his backpack and retrieving it. He handed it to her cautiously. She flipped through it and smirked before throwing it up onto her bunk bed. "Hey!" he yelled.

"Relax," she said. "I'll give it back. I'm just bored with the book I'm currently reading." Kokuro looked a little worried but didn't say anything. "You said you got that from Akuma," she said. "Why would she have a book like that?"

"It's kind of a long story," Kokuro said. "One that she should tell you, not me."

"Maybe I'll ask her," she said. "So you decided to come back for the Kuriboh's didn't you?"

Kokuro was startled but slowly nodded a little, "Them vanishing made me realize that we truly were destroying ourselves. I wanted to save them, and since they represented our friendship, I realized that I truly did want to save our friendship."

"Like I said," Sonomi began, "one thing at a time. Now then, if you're confident with your deck, we might as well go to the arena now."

Kokuro looked over at his deck box sitting on his bed, he sighed and nodded. "Yeah, why not."

Sonomi went to retrieve her deck while Kokuro got his. They equipped their Duel Disks and they stood in the center of the room. "We'll shuffle here, and then once we're at the Ra Arena we'll begin immediately. Mia, you'll watch to make sure neither of us reshuffle our deck on the way there."

"Yeah, sure," she said. They handed their decks over and they looked into each others eyes as they began shuffling.

"Kokuro, I'm going to warn you now, the deck you're holding in your hands is the strongest it's ever been. I changed it to be the best deck I could make it using the cards I owned, while trying to keep it like it was. I then input the data into my Duel Emulator and also entered in your deck as I knew it. All I'll say is that it was quite successful."

"An emulator is one thing," Kokuro said shuffling her deck. "But it can only go so far. It is a computer A.I. after all, and can't use my deck to its full potential. Not to mention I changed mine around quite a bit as well."

"Then this will truly be a test of our skills," she said as she finished and held it out to him. Kokuro finished and handed her deck back to her as he took his own. They inserted them into their Duel Disks and headed out towards the Ra Arena.

As they got there, two Ra's were just about to begin a duel. Sonomi walked up to one side and pushed one of them off the arena.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" the other asked.

"Get out of the arena," she glared at him. "Unless you want to meet the same fate as your friend there."

Kokuro got into the arena and put his shoulder on the other boy, "You should probably listen to her," he said.

"That's not fair," the boy that was pushed said as he stood up. "We were here first. If you don't get out of here, we'll call Professor Hikari."

"Good!" Sonomi said smirking. "Let him come, so that he can see my true power. I want him to realize that I'm the greatest duelist in this school, and that no one will ever beat me again. My name is Sonomi Hinote, and I am the official Legend of Duelist Academy," she called out.

"Confident," Mia said grinning nervously.

"I've just messaged Professor Hikari," the boy on Kokuro's side said. "He's coming to resolve this."

"Good, then get out of the way," Sonomi said narrowing her eyes.

"Hey, he'll decide who duels first," the boy on Sonomi's side said getting up into Sonomi's face.

"If you don't want a black eye you'll get out of my way," she said shoving him off the arena once more.

"Umm," the other boy said. "I think I'll let you two duel first," he said running off the arena to go help his friend.

"Good," Sonomi smirked looking at Kokuro, "If you're ready then come at me," she called out. "Game on!"

"Let's duel," Kokuro said as both their Duel Disks unfolded.

"I'll begin," Sonomi said drawing her hand of six. "First off I summon Familiar-Possessed – Hiita," she called out as a red haired teenager appeared on the field wearing tan cloths and wielding a long staff. She had a demonic fox spirit resting by her feet. (1850/1500) "Next I'll set these three cards under the table," she said as three cards appeared behind her Hiita. "I end my turn."

Just as Kokuro drew his next card, Professor Hikari walked into the room, "Now what is this about a crazy female beating up my Ra's?" he asked as he looked around the room before looking up at the arena. "What is this?" he asked smirking. "Miss Hinote is facing that soon to be expelled boy?"

"How'd you know about that?" Kokuro asked.

"Oh please, everyone knows about expulsion duels," he grinned. "I'll be looking forward to watching you fall on your knees as you're defeated."

"Don't count on it," Kokuro said glaring.

"Either way," Professor Hikari, said grinning as he walked over to a telephone on the wall. He hit a few buttons and an island wide announcement began. "Attention students, Sonomi Hinote and Kokuro Samé are having a special duel in the Ra Yellow Arena. Anyone who wants to watch these two duelists duke it out for what could be their final time should come immediately to the arena. The duel is already hot underway, so get here as fast as possible." He looked up at the two whom were glaring at him.

* * *

In Kaiba's office, he heard quite clearly the announcement that Professor Hikari had just given. 'What is that fool doing?' he asked. He clicked over to the security camera's in the duel arena on his computer and watched the two of them stand there glaring at Hikari. 'I don't know what's going on here, but I need to get in contact with those two duelists I have planned for the exhibition duel. That doesn't mean I'm not going to keep an eye on this duel,' he thought as he reached for his phone. A thought then occured to him and he navigated to a different web page. 'I should probably get those Booster Packs here now, I'll be in trouble if I don't,' he typed in an order and then smirked. 'I can't wait to see the look on his face,' he smirked as he turned his head back to the duel before making his call. 

In the arena, several students were beginning to file in faster than anyone could have imagined. They had come almost immediately after Hikari made the announcement, "So, this could be their final duel," one kid said.

"Who do you think will win?"

"My money's on Sonomi."

"No way, Kokuro will cream her like he did last time."

The audience stands began to fill up as they glanced over at the crowd. "This is not what I wanted," Sonomi glared at Hikari.

"Oops," Hikari said grinning.

"I'm not going to let these kids stop me from dueling," Kokuro said looking down at his hand. "If we're going to play this duel, then let's just play it."

"Fine with me," Sonomi said grinning.

"Then to begin, I'll summon my Skilled Black Magician!" he called out as his black robed magician appeared on the field. (1900/1700)

"You've just triggered one of my newest, most deadly combo's for any deck," she said as one of her down cards reversed itself. "I activate Chain Destruction. This card will destroy any card in your hand or deck that is the same as the monster you just summoned as long as it has 2000 attack points or less." A chain shot out of the Skilled Black Magician and ran through Kokuro's Duel Disk forcing his two Skilled Black Magicians into the graveyard."

"That's annoying, but at least my Skilled Black Magician on the field is safe," Kokuro said.

"Didn't I just tell you this was a combo?" Sonomi asked as her other card reversed itself. "I activate Karma Cut," she said grinning. "Now I discard my Ultimate Baseball Kid from my hand, and I can remove one monster on your side of the field from play, and any monsters with the same name that are in your Graveyard are also removed," she said grinning.

"No way!" Kokuro gasped as his three Skilled Black Magicians appeared on the field and were sucked into a vortex in the ground.

"You've just lost all three of your Skilled Black Magicians with no chance of getting them back," Sonomi smirked.

"Now that was an impressive strategy," Hikari admitted.

"I'll set one card under the table and end my turn," Kokuro said as one card appeared in front of him.

"My move," she said drawing. "I summon Tenkabito Shien," she announced as a general in red armor riding a purple horse appeared on the field. (1500/1000) "Tenkabito is unaffected by any trap cards fyi. Now then, attack the player!" she announced. The horse sped forward and Tenkabito pulled out a long silver sword which slashed through Kokuro as he passed him. Ko: (6500) "Now Hiita, attack Kokuro as well!" Hiita raised her staff and a stream of fire erupted from it going right for Kokuro.

"Reverse Magic Cylinder," he called out. Two cylinders appeared on the field making the stream of fire go through one and come out the other ramming into Sonomi. So: (6150) "I'm not letting you get two direct attacks off against me," he said smirking.

"It would appear so," she said straightening herself. "Fine, my turn is over."

"My move," he said as he drew his top card. "And I'll summon White Magician Pikeru," he called out as the small magician appeared on the field twirling. (1200/0) "However she won't be around for long, because I'm activating the spell known as Magical Dimension, and here's how it works. I tribute one spellcaster on my field in order to special summon one from my hand, so good bye Pikeru and hello Black Magician Girl!" Pikeru vanished and a gold sarcophagi appeared being held by chains. It opened up and Black Magician Girl came out giving a twirl. (2000/1700)

"That's annoying," Sonomi said. Instantly her Hiita was pulled into the sarcophagi by a mysterious power before it vanished. "What just happened?"

"Did I forget to mention my spells other ability? Once it summons a new spellcaster it can destroy one monster on your side of the field," he said grinning. The audience began applauding him as he stood there taking in the moment. "Don't blink," he said as he slid another card in, "or else you'll miss my next trick. I activate Sage's Stone, so my lovely assistant will now bring out the main magician," he said.

Black Magician Girl produced a glowing jewel which began to shine brightly blinding everyone in the arena momentarily. When the light died down, Black Magician was standing on the field smirking at Tenkabito. (2500/2100)

'Not good,' she thought.

"Go Black Magician, wipe out Tenkabito!" he called out. Black Magician released a beam of dark green magic that struck the general destroying him. So: (5150)

"I reveal my final face down," Sonomi said as her card reversed itself. "The Grave of Enkindling. Here's how it works, both of us retrieve a monster from our graveyards and special summon them on guard. Also, neither can change their battle position except with a card effect. So I'll choose my Hiita to come back," she called out as the ground ripped open and Hiita came back up in flames. (1850/1500)

"I bring back Pikeru," Kokuro announced as his Pikeru reappeared on the field on guard. "Then I'll have my Black Magician Girl wipe out your Hiita!" Black Magician Girl fired a ball of pink magic at Hiita destroying her. "Your move," he said.

Sonomi drew her card and grimaced. "I'll lay one under the table and end," she said as the card appeared.

"My move," Kokuro said drawing. His magicians all began glowing as did he. Ko: (7700) "Thanks Pikeru," he smiled at her. "Now I summon Blast Magician," he announced as his magician in the red robes wielding the scythe appeared on the field. (1400/1700) "And this will be game," Kokuro said confidently. "Blast Magician, attack the player!"

Blast Magician's scythe caught on fire and he charged at Sonomi getting ready to strike. "Go Negate Attack," she called out as a vortex appeared in front of her knocking Blast Magician back. "I'm safe for this round."

"I should have done this at the beginning of my turn but I didn't think that down card would have actually been a problem," Kokuro said as he took his Black Magician and Black Magician Girl off his disk. "I won't make the same mistake twice. I offer my two magicians to special summon my Sorcerer of Black Magic," he announced as the two spellcasters vanished and a magician in long flowing black robes wielding a long staff with a blue orb at the top appeared on the field. (3200/2800) "Now that he's out, your trap cards are useless. I end my turn."

"That's his strongest Magician," Mia said amazed.

"I never knew he had a card like that in his deck," Hikari said awestruck. "How in the world did he pull that off?"

"He told me once that his friend Yamato won it in a tournament and he later traded all the best cards in his binder for it even though it wasn't anything Yamato could use."

"The fool, I bet his friend would have traded it for less," Hikari grinned.

Sonomi drew her card a little worried but breathed a sigh of relief when she saw what it was. "I set one monster on guard and I'll set one card under the table," she said as her two cards appeared. "That ends my turn."

"Too bad whatever card you just set won't save you," Kokuro said drawing as his magicians once again began to glow. Ko: (8900) "I'll set one monster on guard," he said as his face down monster appeared. "Now, Blast Magician, attack her guarding monster!" Blast Magician ran forward and his flaming scythe destroyed a UFO Turtle.

"Thanks," she smirked as Solar Flare Dragon appeared on the field roaring. (1500/1000) "Hopefully you can guess my next move," she said as her face down Inferno Reckless Summoning card reversed itself. Two more Solar Flare Dragons appeared roaring at Kokuro. (1500/1000 x2)

Kokuro growled as he looked at the lock, "Fine, I end my turn."

The audience once again began cheering, but this time it was for Sonomi, "Keep fighting hard guys," Mia encouraged.

"Let the burning begin," Sonomi smirked drawing. "I attack your Blast Magician with a Solar Flare Dragon," she said as one of them shot a stream of fire at Blast Magician destroying it. Ko: (8800) "Next I'll have a second destroy your Pikeru!" The other slithered forward and rammed Pikeru smashing her into the ground destroying her. "Then my last one will attack your down monster."

The last Solar Flare Dragon shot a fire ball at the Apprentice Magician that appeared shortly before being destroyed, "I search for another Apprentice Magician," he said putting the card face down.

"Finally I'll set one card under the table and I'll have my Solar Flare Dragons finish up." The three Solar Flare Dragons all fired balls of fire at Kokuro knocking him backwards. Ko: (7300)

"That was unpleasant," Kokuro said. He then looked up at her and smiled, 'This may sound crazy, but I love this duel. She's by far the strongest duelist I've ever faced, maybe even more powerful than Yamato and Domid; at least on equal ground with them. I truly feel invigorated when I duel her.'

'What are you waiting for?' she asked when she saw he was smiling at her.

"Sorry," he said drawing. 'There's the Future Fusion Sariana gave me,' he thought. 'I thought adding it would make bringing Black Paladin out easier. Too bad Black Magician is already in the graveyard.' "I have to pass," he said.

"Too bad," Sonomi said drawing. "And here's where your Sorceror goes down," she smirked. "I summon Ultimate Baseball Kid," she called out as her baseball player appeared on the field. (500/1000) "And since there's three of his team players on the field, he gains 3000 attack points," she smirked as her baseball player grew in strength. (3500/1000) "Ultimate Baseball Player, send his Sorceror of Black Magician out into left field!" she called out. The baseball player swung his flaming bat at the Sorceror knocking him into the wall destroying him. Ko: (7000)

"Not good," he said worriedly.

"Solar Flare Dragon, wipe out his Apprentice Magician," she called out as one of them shot another fireball at the other magician.

"Since I went down to only using two, I can only summon Old Vindictive Magician," he said as the facedown card appeared.

"What a shame, second Solar Flare, wipe it out!" The pyro dragon shot a stream of fire into the old mage destroying it. A beam of light shot from the smoke striking the baseball player destroying him. "Figures," she said. "Now it's time to burn baby!" she called out as her final Solar Flare dragon shot a stream of fire right into Kokuro. Ko: (5500) "And now Solar Flare Dragons, give it to him again!" she called out. Each one fired a fireball at him bringing him to his knees. (4000)

'Miss Hinote is certainly making mince meat out of that sorry excuse for a Ra,' Hikari thought joyous. 'Don't let me down Hinote, there will be an A in this for you if you win.'

Kokuro slowly drew his card and played it immediately, "Hopefully Charity works better than Greed," he said as an angel appeared and blessed his deck. He pulled three cards from it and looked at them carefully. "I discard my Future Fusion and Magician's Circle," he said sliding them into his Graveyard. "Then I'll play Premature Burial to bring back my Black Magician," he announced as his Black Magician reappeared on the field looking annoyed. (2500/2100) Ko: (3200)

'Since that was a special summon, I can't use my Forced Back Trap,' she thought annoyed.

"That will at least stop direct attacks, I end my turn."

"It won't stop as many as you would like," Sonomi said drawing. "I'll let my Solar Flare Dragons hit you and call it a turn," she smirked as the dragon's nonstop barrage of fireballs slammed into Kokuro. Ko: (1700)

Kokuro drew his card and looked down at it, 'I'm running out of options,' he thought to himself as he set the card. "One under the table and one on guard. Go."

"Gladely," she said pulling her card. "I was going to attack that on guard monster," she said. "But why bother when I can just win instantly. I activate Dark Room of Nightmare," she said grinning as the room around them vanished and they were placed in a dungeon. "My turn is over, as is this duel. I'm sorry but I truly thought this would be better."

"It's not over yet!" Kokuro announced as Pikeru appeared on the field and cast a circle around him just as the three fire balls slammed against an invisible barrier. Pikeru and the rune circle vanished as Kokuro drew once more.

"Impressive," Sonomi admitted. "But next turn will be the end."

"I don't agree," Kokuro grinned. "I activate MST," he said as an electrical storm blew through the dungeon crumbling it. He began to smile at her again, and she looked up at him, giving him a questioning look. "We may not be on the best of terms…yet I'm really enjoying this duel," he said answering her look.

"It does feel good to duel someone worthy of my skills," she admitted.

Kokuro nodded and waved his hand, "I'm done for this turn."

Sonomi drew her card and just stood there astonished, "Unfortunately for you, this is your final turn," she said. "I summon Hand of Nephthys," she said as a woman in gold clothing and a red cape appeared on the field. (600/600) "As you know, I can sacrifice Hand of Nephthys and one other monster in order to summon my Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys from my deck!" she called out as one of her Solar Flare Dragons, along with her Hand of Nephthys vanished as the phoenix itself appeared on the field screeching loudly. (2400/1600)

"Nice move but I don't see how it's going to allow you to win," Kokuro said.

"Kokuro," she said. "That Infernal Flame Emperor I got from that pack you gave me so long ago is a powerful monster, but even it pales in comparison to another card in my deck. I've drawn it countless times in duels, but I've never once used it in the academy. I've used it before outside of the academy, Katsu could attest to that. But I rarely ever need it, so I never bother summoning it."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because in order to play it, I have to sacrifice my favorite monster," she said looking over at the Sacred Phoenix. "But to defeat you, and prove to everyone here that I'm superior, I'll do it."

"What are you talking about?" Kokuro asked.

"This card can only be summoned when my Sacred Phoenix is on the field, and even that's not enough, I then have to sacrifice every Fire Attribute monster on my side of the field."

Kokuro watched as the phoenix on Sonomi's side of the field and the two Solar Flare Dragons vanished in flames as the entire arena began to swirl with flames. "What have you done?" he asked.

"I've summoned my most powerful monster," she called out as she placed the card on the disk. The flames that were swirling began to converge into one form, a flaming phoenix that was larger than any monster that Kokuro had ever seen played. The body constantly stayed on fire, as if it was actually made of fire; the heat in the room instantly increased and Kokuro began to sweat profusely. "Behold, The Divine Phoenix of the Sun!" she called out. (4800/3600)

"Forty-Eight Hundred attack points!" Kokuro gasped.

"That thing…" Professor Hikari said taking a step back. "What is that thing?"

"It's the most powerful monster I've ever seen," Mia said shocked.

"So she finally summoned it," Katsu said from behind Mia.

Mia was startled, "how long have you been here?" she asked.

"I was the first one to get here," she said. "And that thing is indeed by far her strongest monster."

The flames of the phoenix would occasionally back lash into the air but Sonomi seemed completely un-phased by it. "My Divine Phoenix of the Sun's power isn't actually a set strength," Sonomi explained. "You see, its power is determined by the total level of the monsters sacrificed to summon it times three hundred. So since there were sixteen levels, sixteen times three hundred is Forty-Eight hundred. As for its Defense, it's made up of the combined defense of the monsters used to summon it," she explained. "Now then, Its time to end this duel."

"I don't believe it," Kokuro thought. 'All this time, she's been hiding all this strength,' he stared at the Phoenix in awe as the back lash almost hit him and he began to sweat even harder. 'Recently I've been losing a lot. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Everyone at home, with the exception of maybe Selaya, was stronger than me. I almost never won, even though I would place well in our card shop tournaments, I often times struggled. And before Yamato and Domid taught me how to play better, I was dead last, each and every time. Maybe it really was just luck all this time,' he thought. 'No. I was a great duelist. I worked hard each time, and I truly did win those duels.' He gave a small smile, 'I've had some good times here at the academy, but I guess everything ends sooner or later. And come tomorrow, I'll be out of here.'

"Divine Phoenix, attack Kokuro with Celestial Flame Blast!" she called out. The phoenix released an enormous flame attack which fully engulfed Kokuro's Black Magician and then went on to engulf Kokuro himself. He was flung onto his back as his Life Points depleted. Ko: (0) The Phoenix roared loudly before finally vanishing. The arena instantly cooled and everyone in the arena sat in shock for a moment before applauding for Sonomi. "You lose," she said looking over at him.

"I know," he said standing up, exhausted. "It was a good duel," he said forcing a small smile. "I'll be going." He started to turn around when something was flung on top of him, obstructing his vision. "What?" he asked as he pulled it off. He saw his Ra Yellow uniform in his hands, and turned to look at Sonomi. "What's all this about?" he asked. "I lost."

"I told you I'd give it back to you if I thought you proved yourself," she said narrowing her eyes at him.

"But I lost," he said.

"It doesn't mean you haven't proved yourself," she said. "Although it was a shorter than I would have liked, it was difficult, at least until I got my Solar Flare Dragons out. I could tell you tried your hardest. Summoning your Magician Girl with Magical Dimension and then following up with Sage's Stone, it was impressive; and then shortly after bringing out your Sorceror. In fact, had I not drawn my Negate Attack, you would have won that duel. That was close enough for me. Congratulations."

He looked at her and smiled a little, "Thanks," he said sliding on the jacket. "So does this mean we're ok?" he asked hopefully.

"I said you proved yourself as a duelist," she replied. "That's all I said." She turned around and walked out of the arena.

Kokuro looked down and slowly exited the arena as the students also began to file out. A short while later Kokuro found himself sitting on one of the benches looking out at the ocean. There was a small breeze blowing, and it rustled his hair as he sat there, just staring blankly.

A number of students had walked past him and tried to get his attention, but he didn't acknowledge any of them. They soon enough left him alone, and let him sit there alone. The day went by and he didn't move. It got dark outside, but Kokuro didn't seem to notice. On another part of the island Sonomi was sitting in a field of grass, underneath a small light pole, also looking out at the ocean. She seemed to be as dazed as Kokuro was. After a while she got up and began to walk around. She had been sitting for a while, but she was getting bored and wanted to move around.

As she walked she saw Kokuro sitting on the bench, zoning out into the ocean. She sighed and walked over to the bench and sat down; Kokuro didn't seem to notice. They sat in silence for a long time, before she finally looked at him and began talking. "There's something you have to understand about me," she said. He didn't respond; he just kept looking out at the ocean.

She sighed, "Alright, I guess I'll just talk." She took a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing. "My childhood isn't one that you could call happy, by any stretch of the imagination. I was taught to work hard in whatever I was trying to accomplish, and that taking short cuts was a sign of weakness. That if I took a short cut, I would only be depriving myself of a full experience. I was also taught not to trust people."

She stayed silent for a moment looking out at the ocean before continuing. "I was taught that people in the world will try to take advantage of me, because I was a girl. They would think I'm weak, and that I wouldn't know how to stand up for myself. Dueling is my way of proving to the world that I'm not weak; and that I never will be."

She sighed for a moment and was startled when Kokuro suddenly began talking. "My mother is cool," he said silently.

"What?" she asked confused.

"Everyone says my mother is cool," Kokuro explained. "Even people who hate me think she's cool, for what reason I'll never know. I think she's cool, but she's my mother, so of course I would. But somehow she always seems to impress people. My father is a complete goofball. I sometimes wonder how they fell in love. She was always into whatever was hip at the time and all he could do was make her laugh. But somehow they fell in love."

Sonomi stared at him as he continued to talk, "I came along, and I was constantly picked on by kids in school. I inherited my father's foolishness, instead of my mothers coolness. No one wanted to be around me. They laughed at me and mocked me for whatever reason, I'll never understand. Yet somehow, I could get through it, and for the most part I always smiled. Then when I was four, my sister was born. She's kind of a mix between my parents. She's kind of into what's cool, but she's also sweet and compassionate in whatever she does."

"I forgot you had a sister," Sonomi said.

"Selaya was liked by everyone in her grade, even kids in grades above her thought she was the sweetest thing in the world. There was once a time where that sweetness was lost, but I personally made sure that it stayed right where it was." Sonomi didn't understand what he meant, but he continued on anyway. "Regardless, I was made fun of even more. People often told me they couldn't understand how someone as nice as Selaya could be my sister. I never let it bother me, because I knew that no matter what anyone said, Selaya would always love me."

"After a while, I met Domid and Yamato, and being the Duel Monster obsessed freaks that we are, they accepted me. I've had just them and my family. But even then, when I came here, I was faced with a lot of the same problems. But the roles were slightly different now. I found myself a Domid and a Yamato in the forms of girls. And even then I faced adversity against the other students. But somehow, I've lasted up to now."

"You're starting to not make sense," she said.

"I know," he said quietly. "These are just my thoughts, running through my head. There's no sequence really."

She stared at him for a moment before sighing, "Look. Like I said last night…I don't hate you." For the first time the entire conversation, Kokuro looked over at Sonomi. "But I can't trust you either," she said. "I don't heal that fast, and I probably never will."

"I understand," Kokuro said.

"Who knows," she thought. "Maybe one day, I'll come to terms with it and I'll trust you again, of course, it might be way too late by then."

"It probably will be," Kokuro said looking back out at the ocean. "I'll give you my phone number though," he said. "When you finally forgive me, you can call me and tell me."

"Ok," she said as they stared out at the ocean.

"I don't blame you," Kokuro said quietly. "You obviously had something serious happen to you at a young age. Not everyone recovers so quickly."

"What does that mean?" she asked looking at him.

"You'd have to ask Akuma," he answered.

After a while, Sonomi got up and left and Kokuro followed soon after. Kokuro got into the room and climbed into bed falling to sleep easily. He wanted to be rested for what could be his last duel at the academy.


	40. The Expulsion Duel!

Sdrive: So, what's going to happen to Kokuro? He hasn't bothered to find a partner, and he's super depressed. I guess you'll find out. Also, I am continuing to use original Show Rulings for a certain card, you'll know it when you see it.

A/N: Also, here's a special contest that Peace Writer CAN NOT ENTER!!!!! Sorry Peace, but you know the answers already. The Tag Team duel in this chapter is consisted of two very special duelists. I'm giving away 100 CPC's (COUCH POTATO POINTS) to whomever can answer these questions. 1. What anime(s) do these characters originate from? And 2, why did I pick these two and give them the decks I did? One Hint: Only those of you who have truly been following my work, and Kokuro (the character in general, not just in Ra) will be able to answer this. That's why I forbid Peace from doing it, because he's already familiar with these characters . Either way, you must answer both questions correctly to get the CPC's redeemable in my super special awesome store.

* * *

Kokuro woke up early the next morning, and immediately showered. He dressed up in his regular clothes and began lacing his shoes. He was about to open the door when Sonomi came through, "What are you doing up?" she asked.

"I was going out for a walk," he said showing her the Ipod he had in his hand.

"You should be getting ready for your duel," she said.

"It won't matter," Kokuro said. "Master Kaiba will probably end up picking a partner for me, and they probably won't be good enough anyway."

"What happened to the boy who used to always look on the bright side?" she asked.

"I still think I have a small chance of winning, but it's just not worth it to fret over it. I'm going to take a walk around the academy grounds, remember all the fun things I've done here. He stretched a bit and put in his ear buds, "Besides," he said looking over at her and giving a small smile. "If I do lose, I may just be able to watch Selaya win a tournament." He walked out of the room and she watched him leave. She glanced up at her bed and then back to the door sighing.

* * *

Kokuro walked along the grounds, he had passed by the Card Shop, the hot springs, the main academy building, and the Obelisk and Osiris dorms. He looked out at the forest and remembered the nature hike. So much had happened to him, more than he thought could ever happen to him. He smiled slightly, and headed back towards the Ra Yellow Dorm Room.

Come 11:45 Kokuro was still dressed up in his casual clothes, putting on his Duel Disk and equipping his deck box to his belt. Sonomi looked down at him from his bed, "Aren't you going to change?" she asked.

"Why should I?" he asked.

"You're an idiot," she said jumping down next to him. "Your Ra Uniform is a part of you. If you don't wear it, you'll have no confidence. You have to show off your rank to these duelists and make them fear you."

"Fear me?" he asked skeptically.

"Of course," she said. "You're a first year in Ra Yellow, that's big stuff. You need to wear your jacket proud, and make them think that you're not going to lose. You need to go in there with the attitude that no matter whom your partner is, no matter what kind of decks they use, you won't lose."

"Why are you suddenly cheering for me?" he asked.

"I'm not," she said. "I'm snapping you back into reality. You stood up to Master Kaiba himself, why did you do that?"

"I…I wanted to come back to live with you guys," he said glumly.

"Exactly!" she said shouting at him. "If you lose this duel, you stood up to Kaiba for nothing!"

Kokuro looked up at her and thought about it. 'She's right. If I don't work my hardest to win, then what's the point in being wrapped up in this duel anyway?' A change came over Kokuro, his eyes got that confident look back in his eyes, and a smirk appeared over his lips. "You're right," he said. "I got myself into this, with the intention that I was going to get what I wanted. Now I have to get it! Thanks." He stepped into the bathroom and changed quickly.

When he emerged he was wearing his Yellow uniform and a look of determination on his face, "I'm heading out," he said.

"Mia made me promise to come watch," she said. "She's already at the arena, I'll walk with you."

Kokuro took the lead and headed out towards the Ra Arena. As he got there, there were already hundreds of students in the stands waiting for him to arrive. He looked around in the audience, he saw everyone he had come to know. Yaku, Kazuki, Kahou, Jordan, Katsu, Fuuten, and Setsuna. Mia was waiting by the arena with her hands behind her back next to Kaiba who had his arms crossed. Kokuro even noticed Satoshi and Akuma in the audience. As he kept walking he saw one other familiar face.

A female student with hazel eyes, brown hair, and a yellow blazer seemed to be watching him intently. The two locked eyes momentarily, and Kokuro couldn't help but think to himself. 'I have to win this one for you as well. I have to pay you back for earlier in the year.' Their eyes left and he saw yet another familiar face, one that he wasn't as happy to see though.

Ritsuzen stared down at him from the front row, smirking almost. Kokuro looked up at him and smirked back. He made a hand motion which could only mean one thing. "You vs. Me."

Ritsuzen gave one back which could have meant, "I don't care any longer," or more likely, "First you have to survive."

Kokuro walked over to Kaiba and stood in front of him, the determination not faltering, "I hope you haven't called my parent's yet," Kokuro said. "Cause I'm not leaving."

"That's the spirit," Mia said to him.

"That remains to be seen," Kaiba said. "I need an answer, the duelists are almost here. Who will be your Tag Team Partner?"

"I don't have one," he responded. "You'll have to get me whoever you have picked out."

"No he won't," Sonomi said. "I'll need it now Mia," she said turning to Mia.

Mia pulled her hands from behind her back and produced a Duel Disk. She handed it to Sonomi who equipped it. "What are you doing?" Kokuro asked.

"I told you I respect you as a duelist. And it would suck if one of the best duelists here had to leave all because he stood up for what he believed in," she narrowed her eyes at Kaiba before looking at Kokuro. "I'm not doing this out of friendship, I'm doing this out of rivalry. If you leave I'll be bored here with no one good enough to fight. We may not be on the best terms, but you're good competition, and I'll miss that most of all."

"Are you sure you won't miss his brimming personality more?" Mia asked hopefully.

"You don't listen well do you?" Sonomi asked her.

"I fade in and out," she joked.

Kaiba looked over at Sonomi, "You're sure about this?" he asked.

"Positive," she said. "Now let's do this."

'With Sonomi on my side, there's no way I'll possibly lose,' he thought grinning. He nodded to her. "I choose Sonomi Hinote, the official Legend of Duelist Academy as my partner."

'He's using Sonomi's self proclaimed name,' Mia thought. 'How cute.' Then a mean trick came to her and she couldn't resist, "Yay, Kokuro chose Sonomi as his partner! Now they're gonna get married and…" Sonomi put her hand to Mia's mouth muffling her out.

"Very well," Kaiba said sweatdropping. 'I was really hoping I could choose,' Kaiba thought. 'I was going to force him to work with Ritsuzen.' "The two duelists are on their way, get into the arena, and I'll explain the rules when they arrive."

Sonomi and Kokuro entered the arena and stood next to each other as they watched the opposite side of the arena at the entrance. The doors began to open and two duelists stepped out. They were both males. The first was thin, and was wearing a high necked jacket, pants and sunglasses. The second one was a grim looking youth. His pale face was just about as noticeable as the black marks painted under his eyes. He was scraggly with almost no muscle. He wore a chain around his neck with a large Ankh at the end. He too wore a long trench coat, and his hands were covered in black mesh, which wrapped around his pale fingers. The younger one had a regular duel disk while the taller one had one shaped like a Cross.

"Oh great," Sonomi said sarcastically. "We have a priest…"

"…and a sad clown," Kokuro finished. They glanced at each other momentarily before smirking back at the other two.

"Are these the two duelists we have to crush?" the older one asked.

"Doesn't look hard," the younger one said.

"Welcome," Kaiba said as he got into the middle of the arena. "The challengers are Kokuro Samé and Sonomi Hinote," he said through a microphone. "And the duelists that we've brought in for this epic battle are Nicholas T. Dewolf, and his younger brother, um, Grieve." He looked at the name and shrugged, "more commonly their known as the Dewolf Brothers."

"They don't sound too tough," Kokuro said looking at them.

'The Dewolfs,' Sonomi thought to herself. 'I think I've heard of them.' "Kokuro, these duelists might not be as easy to beat as you think. I think I remember hearing something about them being Duelist Assasins."

"Duelist Assasins?" Kokuro gulped.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Apparently they're called into every major tournament to weed out weak duelists, and even strong ones. On more than one occasion they've taken the prizes of the tournaments because there was no one left when they were finished. I think they started out as Rare Hunters at one point. They're the only Rare Hunters I'd ever consider dangerous."

"Sounds interesting," Kokuro said a little nervously. He then shook it off and smirked at them, "Listen Nick…"

"My name is Nicholas. My mother called me by no other name."

"Whatever," Kokuro said. "Listen Nicholas, and Grief."

"Grieve," he corrected.

"Whatever!" he shouted. "I've got a reputation to keep up, so I'm not going to let a couple of one time assassins beat me?" He looked over at Sonomi and smirked, "I mean us. Got it?"

"Easier said than done," Nicholas said. "Haven't you heard? This ain't a normal duel." His eye twitched, and a small quiver went through his hand. "Yo, Kaiba. Can't I have just one cigarette?"

"No," Kaiba said. "I told you there would be no smoking while you were here."

"Spoil sport," he said annoyed. "Let's get this going."

"Fine," Kaiba nodded. "It's close enough anyway. Alright, the rules are as followed."

"This duel will be played as if it were like any other one on one duel," Kaiba began to explain. "It's like wrestling, you can switch out with your opponent if you need to, but only during your standby phase. The duelist that switches in can't draw that turn, but can draw while they're waiting; however they can only draw once. The waiting duelist can also switch with their side deck at any time before they draw. It is the second's responsibility to watch out for cheating. Now, for some of the more important rules."

"There is one main duelist, in this case it will be Kokuro and Nicholas, and the second will be Sonomi and Grieve. The seconds can only stay out on the field for up to five turns. By the fifth standby phase they _must _switch out with the main. Also, they can not come back in until the main has been on the field at least as long as the second was out. When a duelist leaves the field, they reshuffle all cards on the field and in their hand with their deck, the teams have shared graveyards. During each standby phase, whomever's waiting, if their Life Points are under 8000, they'll gain 500 until they are back at 8000, likewise if they are over 8000 they'll lose 500 until they are back at 8000. This happens during each player's Standby Phase. Are there any questions?"

"The second doesn't have to stay out for all five turns right?" Kokuro asked.

"Right," Kaiba said. "However, if the second was out for two turns and switches with the main, the main has to stay out for two complete turns before switching again. Understand?" The Duelists nodded and Sonomi and Grieve stepped back from Kokuro and Nicholas. "Oh, one more thing," Kaiba said. "The Second is expendable, the main isn't. In other words, if the second loses, the duel will go on, but if the main loses, the entire team is disqualified."

"So I truly am the main ingredient in this," Kokuro said.

"I told you it wouldn't be easy," he said smirking. "Now then, if the duelists are ready, you may begin."

Kokuro was about to agree when his PDA vibrated. He took it out and opened it.

_I know you can win. You just have to be confident in yourself. If anyone could win this duel, it would be you. If you win, please meet me near "The Simple Spot," at three o'clock this afternoon. –Ami._

'All the more incentive to win,' Kokuro thought tucking it away. Sonomi and Kaiba glanced at him, "Just some encouragement," Kokuro explained. "Now then, let's duel."

Nicholas's Duel Disk simply illuminated as Kokuro's unfolded. "Nicholas shall begin," Kaiba said standing off to the side.

"Sure," he said pulling the top card on his disk. "I'll start off nice and easy for ya," he said taking two cards from his hand. "One on guard and one under the table, and it's over to you kid." The two cards appeared and Kokuro drew his card.

"I'll really get things moving then," he said as he placed a card on his disk and his Skilled Black Magician appeared ready for battle. (1900/1700) "Now Skilled Black Magician, attack his monster!"

A mechanical monster with a few shields covered with spikes on them appeared on the field deflecting the attack. "Nice try kid, but that's my Gear Golem," he smirked. (800/2200)

"Nice," Kokuro said sarcastically. Ko: (7700) "I'll set three cards under the table and end my turn."

"Back to me," Nicholas said drawing. "I'll equip my Gear Golem with the Heart of Clear Water," he said as he slid the card into the disk.

"As if it weren't already indestructible," Kokuro said as one of his three face downs reversed. "I don't want it to truly be indestructible, so my Spell Shield will so kindly protect your monster from any unwanted equips." A shield was generated around the Gear Golem as the spell card shattered.

"You still can't crack its defense," Nicholas said. "Either way, I'll set a monster and end." Another card appeared face down.

"Fine then," Kokuro drew his card and glanced at it. "Skilled Black, attack the new monster."

"Ert, wrong answer," Nicholas said as an orb with three prongs on it shot away from the blast and grabbed onto Skilled Black Magician. "That's my…"

"Adhesive Explosive," Kokuro said growling.

"Sure…" Nicholas grinned. "Whatever you say."

"I end my turn," Kokuro said annoyed.

"My move then," Nicholas said drawing. "I'll activate Wave-Motion Cannon," he announced as he slid the card he drew into his disk as a large blue cannon appeared on the field. "Each turn it…"

"I know what it does," Kokuro said annoyed.

"Sheesh," Nicholas said. "Here I am trying to be nice to ya, and you keep shooting me down…Like I'm going to do to ya," he turned his hand into a gun and made a clicking noise pointing it at Kokuro. "Bang."

"Are you done?" Sonomi asked him from the sidelines.

"Whatever, it's your move."

"Good," Kokuro said drawing. The monster equipped to Kokuro blew up and the explosion caused him to fall backwards near Sonomi. Ko: (5800) "What the…"

"Just because you said it was an Adhesive Explosive doesn't mean that's what it was. It was really a Blast Sphere. You shouldn't jump to conclusions."

"Why you…" Kokuro began but Sonomi cut him off.

"Take a break, you can't crack his defenses and I've got everything I need to start laying on the punishment." The two face downs vanished as Kokuro took them out of his disk and began reshuffling.

"So I get to face the girl now?" Nicholas asked. "Sure, let's see what she can do."

"I summon Raging Flame Sprite," she announced as the small sprite appeared on the field. (100/200) "Attack him directly!" The sprite waved her wand and Nicholas' duel disk caught on fire which he easily put out. Ni: (7900)

"Oh no," Nicholas said. "Not one hundred Life Points."

"If you're scared of that then this would be a good time to start running," she said as Raging Flame Sprite got stronger. (1100/200) "Now I'll empty my hand by setting my last four cards face down," she announced as four cards appeared on her field. "Let's see whatcha got," she smirked.

"I've got plenty babe," he said drawing. Ko: (6300)

"To your draw phase I'll activate Curse of Darkness," Sonomi said as her trap reversed itself.

"A girl packing the big guns," he smirked. "Maybe after this you can ditch this place and come home with me."

"As if," she said disgusted.

"Whatever, I summon Cannon Soldier," he announced. A mechanical monster that had a gun on its shoulder appeared on the field.

"Ert, wrong answer," she said mocking him from earlier. "I reveal my trap, Forced Back!" There was a sudden explosion in front of Cannon Soldier pushing it away as the card reappeared in Nicholas' hand.

He glared at her, "Fine, make your move."

"With pleasure," she said drawing. Ko: (6800) "Go Solar Flare Dragon," she said as the Pyro snake appeared on the field. (1500/1000) "Flame Sprite, attack him again!" The Raging Flame Sprite waved her wand again and this time Nicholas jacket began to spontaneously catch on fire. Ni: (6800) He put his jacket out just as Sonomi ended her turn, causing Nicholas to get blasted by a fire ball from the Flare Dragon. Ni: (6300)

"I'll take over," Grieve said walking up to Nicholas.

"You sure?" he asked. "I'm far from done."

"She uses a burn deck," he pointed out. "You're Life isn't as expendable as mine."

"Fine," Nicholas said as the cards began to vanish and he walked off to the side.

"Oh boy, the clown," Sonomi said smirking. Ko: (7300)

"Mock me all you want, I don't care," he said as he placed one monster on guard. "Make your move."

"Geeze, you'd think that you'd try to scare me or something, or make me laugh. What do you clowns do?" she asked drawing. Ko: (7800)/Ni: (6800) "In case you didn't notice, I'm mocking you. After all, you said I could."

"I'll never understand why the living try to make jokes," Grieve said.

"HA!" she laughed. "What does that make you? Dead?" she asked.

"Yes," he said in a low tone.

"Yeah, whatever buddy. I summon Familiar-Possessed – Hiita," she said as an older Hiita the Fire Charmer appeared on the field. (1850/1500) "Attack this dead guy my Raging Flame Sprite!" she called out. Raging Flame Sprite's wand began to glow and she fired a stream of fire that made contact with Grieve whom barely flinched. Gr: (5900) "Now Solar Flare Dragon, attack his face down monster!" Solar Flare Dragon released its own stream of fire which destroyed a turtle with a pyramid on its back.

"You destroyed my Pyramid Turtle," Grieve said. "I'll search for my second on guard," he announced as a new Pyramid Turtle appeared hiding under the pyramid. (1400/1200)

"That's annoying," she said. "Hiita, go blast it away!" Hiita's demonic fox ran forward and toppled the pyramid allowing Hiita to burn it at its weak point.

"Now I'll search for Ryu Kokki," Grieve said as a large demon made out of bones with a blue stone in its center appeared on the field. (2400/2000)

"Oh that's just great," Sonomi said rolling her eyes. "I end my turn and let Solar Flare Dragon finish you off," she called out as Solar Flare Dragon shot a fire ball at Grieve. Gr: (5400)

"You'll never defeat me," Grieve said drawing. Ko: (8000)/Ni: (7300)

"So, are you Goth or Emo?" Sonomi asked. "Because I really can't figure it out."

"I'm dead," he said flipping over his Graceful Charity card and sliding it into the graveyard.

"So, if you're dead, then why are you playing a game of Duel Monsters in a school auditorium?" she asked as he drew three cards.

"Hell bores me," he said as he took two cards and slid them into the graveyard. "At least on this hell we call earth, there are people to teach the truth too."

"The truth?" she mocked.

"The truth of death."

"Just make your move, the sooner I defeat you the sooner you can go off and make someone smile…or run away screaming."

"Your words mean nothing," he said responded.

"This guy is seriously messed up," Yaku noted.

"Doesn't seem too far off if you ask me," Ritsuzen said smirking.

"You have problems," Kazuki grimaced.

On the arena a large pile of bones appeared on the field and slowly began to rise up as more and more appeared until a long tower had appeared around them. White orbs of light began fading into it. (400/1500) "My Soul Absorbing Bone Tower will take all that's precious to you," Grieve said grimly.

"Now where have I seen that before?" Kokuro asked glancing up at Ritsuzen in the audience. Ritsuzen was smirking at him and he turned back towards the duel.

"Now, I shall activate my Book of Moon," Grieve said as a blue book appeared. Raging Flame Sprite vanished from the field and appeared face down horizontally. A blast of lightning struck him from Sonomi's Curse of Darkness trap but he didn't seem to care. Gr: (3400) "Now, I'll also activate Book of Life," he announced as another book appeared and an evil looking ghost appeared on the field. (1700/1300) Another bolt of lightning struck him once again. Gr: (2400)

"Look's like you're running low on Life Points," she said smirking.

"Soon you will too, but first!" Soul Absorbing Bone Tower shot a beam of light at Sonomi's Duel Disk causing two cards to fall from it into her Graveyard. "That's for special summoning a zombie monster. "Fear From the Dark, destroy her Raging Flame Sprite." The ghost vanished and Raging Flame Sprite appeared looking around nervously. From its shadow the ghost appeared and brought down its long claw destroying it. It floated back next to Ryu Kokki. "Ryu Kokki, wipe out Solar Flare Dragon!" he announced.

"Sorry clown," she said as the zombie fired a dark blue energy beam at her. "But I like my Hiita, and I love Life Points." Her Draining Shield appeared and the beam turned into white light that engulfed Sonomi and rose her Life Points. So: (10400) "How do you like that?" she asked.

"It sickened me," he said as he set one card under the table.

Meanwhile Kokuro had decided he was done shuffling his deck and began to draw his hand. He smirked when he saw it, "Hey Sonomi."

"What?" she asked.

"Lemme in, I wanna take a crack at the clown."

"Are you kidding?" she asked. "I've got him on the ropes."

"And I can make him fall off," he smirked. "At least, if I know you as well as I think I do."

"Well, in that case, I guess I will," she said smirking.

"I'm ending my turn," Grieve said.

"Not before I activate this," she announced as her Spiritual Fire Art Kurenai appeared. "I'm offering up Hiita, and using Kurnai to burn through your Life Points!" Hiita began to glow with a red aura which she transferred into her staff. With her final strength she fired a large stream of fire at Grieve blasting away almost all of his Life Points. Gr: (550)

"It would seem that I do know you as well as I think I do," Kokuro said grinning. Sonomi drew her card and then shuffled everything back into her disk allowing Kokuro to take the lead. Ni: (7800) "Now then," he began looking at Grieve, "Clowns like to make people smile right? So how about you let me have a huge smile and let me deplete your Life Points this round? I activate Cost Down!"

'It's that card I gave him,' Sonomi thought on the side lines.

"I discard Blast Magician and I'll bring out Cybernetic Magician without a sacrifice," he said as the futuristic mage appeared in his silver trench coat and his silvery staff.

"I activate Threatening Roar!" Grieve said as his trap reversed itself. A loud bellow was heard throughout the field and Cybernetic Magician took a step backwards, worried. "Now you can't attack this round."

"Oh fine," Kokuro said disappointed.

"Way to go," Sonomi said to Kokuro sarcastically.

"So I wasn't expecting that," Kokuro defended himself. "I'll set one card under the table and end my turn."

Grieve began to draw but Nicholas pushed him aside, "What are you doing brother?" Grieve asked him.

"He has all his Life Points back, and I'm going to need you again more than likely, so go back and recover your Life Points."

"I'm fine," Grieve argued.

"Tough, it's my turn," Nicholas said as his duel disk illuminated. So: (9900) "Now, as the rules state, I can't draw a card this turn, but I feel like breaking some rules; so I'll activate Pot of Greed." The greedy pot appeared on the field and Nicholas drew twice more causing the Pot to Shatter. "Cool," he grinned.

"Cool?" Kokuro asked a little surprised.

"You don't seem like the kind of guy to say 'cool'" Sonomi agreed.

"I guess you don't know me very well then," Nicholas grinned. "Anyway, I activate Sleepy Sheep," he announced as four sheep tokens appeared on the field defending him. "And if you're wondering why I activated them now, it's so I can do this," he slid a card into his disk. "Go Share the Pain. Now I destroy one sheep token in order to force you to destroy a monster, and seeing as how you only have one…"

"I choose Cybernetic Magician," Kokuro growled as he watched his monster explode.

"Excellent choice, now that that's done, I'm ending."

"My move!" Kokuro announced drawing. So: (9400)/Gr: (1050) "I activate Spell Absorption and end my turn," Kokuro announced as the spell with the hand siphoning energy out of a man appeared on the field.

"Then its back to me," Nicholas said drawing a card. So: (8900)/Gr: (1550) "I summon Cannon Soldier," he announced as the robotic droid with the gun on its shoulder appeared on the field. (1400/1300) "And now, I'm going to sacrifice the other three sheep," he announced as the three sheep turned into energy bullets that inserted themselves into Cannon Soldier. "Bang."

The three energy bullets blasted into Kokuro causing him to fall down next to Sonomi, "You know, you'd think I would have expected something that painful," he said standing back up next to her. Ko: (6500)

Meanwhile Nicholas was making clicking noises and a gun out of his hand, "Tsk, outta bullets," he sighed. "Oh wait, I think there's one more in there. Cannon Soldier Attack!"

Kokuro looked up just in time to get blasted in the chest by an energy stream which almost knocked him off the dueling field. Ko: (5100) "Damn it that hurt!" he shouted.

"Are you alright?" Mia called out from the sidelines.

"One could hope he's not," Ritsuzen replied.

"No one asked you!" Mia shouted at him.

"Oh no, a girl yelled at me. I'm frightened," he mocked.

"Just you wait," Sonomi muttered under her breath. "I'll give you a reason to be frightened of a girl."

Kokuro walked back over to his side of the field a little shaken, "You're done right?" he asked.

"I suppose," Nicholas answered after laying one under the table.

"Good," Kokuro said drawing. So: (8400)/Gr: (2050)

"I summon Skilled White Magician!" he announced as the white robed mage appeared on the field. (1700/1900) "Now I attack! But that allows me to activate this!" he called out as a hexagram appeared on the field, "Using Magician's Circle, I bring out Skilled Black Magician!" he announced as yet another spell caster, this one in black robes appeared. (1900/1700) "Now then, continue your attack Skilled White!" Skilled White Magician shot a blast of white magic straight at the droid destroying it.

Ni: (7500) "I liked him," Nicholas growled.

"You won't like this," Kokuro called out. "Skilled Black, direct attack!" Skilled Black shot a beam of black magic at Nicholas causing him to growl under his breath. Ni: (5600)

'Damn it,' Nicholas thought to himself. 'This guys so freaking annoying.' Out of instinct he pulled a bent cigarette from his pocket and lit it taking a drag. This motion got Kaiba riled up.

"I told you no smoking!" Kaiba growled.

"Oh put a sock in it," Nicholas shot back.

"What did you just say?" Kaiba asked with venom in his voice.

"I'm the one out here, not you. And this kid of yours is going down," Nicholas growled.

"We'll see," Kokuro said smirking. "Your move."

"Good," Nicholas drew his card and waited for the Life Points to right themselves. So: (8000)/Gr: (2550) "Now then, I summon Tribe Infecting Virus!"

"Oh damn it!" Kokuro shouted as the deadly virus began spinning around in the air.

"No, just you," Nicholas smirked playing with the cross around his neck. "Now then, I'll discard Barrel Dragon to destroy all Spellcasters!" The virus began infecting the two magicians on Kokuro's side of the field causing them to shatter before his eyes. "Hey, go ahead and destroy the kid too," Nicholas grinned after another drag on his cigarette. The virus went on to infect Kokuro causing him to start coughing. Ko: (3500)

"I don't know what's worse," Kokuro said coughing. "This holographic virus or your second hand smoke."

"Hey, it's a great stress reliever!" he said blowing some smoke out in Kokuro's direction. "You should try it sometime."

"Not gonna happen," Kokuro growled.

Nicholas shrugged, "Your loss. Oh, your move too."

Kokuro drew his card and looked down at it while Sonomi called out, "You've had your fun, my turn now."

"Not a chance," Kokuro growled. "I can't forgive him for destroying my Magicians like that."

"If he defeats you I'm sure you won't be able to forgive him for kicking you off the island either," Sonomi called out.

Kokuro growled, "Just let me clear a path." Gr: (3050) "I activate Premature Burial!" he announced as his Life Points lowered. Ko: (3200) "Now I bring back Cybernetic Magician!" he announced as his magician reappeared on the field. "Attack that blasted virus!" Cybernetic Magician fired a beam of silver magic at the virus eradicating it. Ni: (4800) "See, the future _does _have the cure for all ailments."

"We'll see about that," Nicholas said drawing his card. Gr: (3550) "I set a monster on guard. Back to you."

"That was simple," Kokuro said drawing.

Sonomi stepped up in front of him, "Hey there tough guy," she said grinning. "Ready to see some real smoke?"

"Hey!" Kokuro said.

"You cleared the path, he's on the defensive, now move it or I'll attack you." Kokuro silently stepped back and cleared his cards reshuffling. Gr: (4050) "I'm setting two under the table and one on guard, have fun." The cards appeared on the field causing Nicholas to cock his eyebrow.

"That's it?" he asked drawing. Ko: (3700)/Ni: (4550)

"Have fun," Sonomi smirked.

"Wish I could," Nicholas sighed. "One defending, go."

"What a bore," Sonomi sighed also. "I set one card under the table," she announced as a face down appeared.

Mia gasped. "What's wrong?" Yaku asked her.

"It's the monotonous, everyone stalls until something better comes along part of the duel!" she said worriedly.

"If we're lucky something good will happen in the next couple seconds," Yaku said getting equally as worried.

Sonomi then took another card from her hand, "Now I sacrifice my face down UFO turtle to summon Thestalos, the Firestorm Monarch!" she called out as a red armored king appeared on the field with a fireball in his hand. He shot the fireball from his hand and struck a spell card. "Drat, no Life Points," she sighed.

Up in the stands, Mia and Yaku were cheering that the duels pace was going faster again.

Ignoring them Sonomi called out, "Thestalos, attack the face down monster!"

Thestalos shot another round of fireballs but a Blast Sphere flung out from the flames and attached to Thestalos, "Fell right into it," Nicholas smirked.

"Grr, I'm done," Sonomi growled.

"My turn," Nicholas stated drawing. Ko: (4700)/Gr: (5050) "And I pass." Sonomi slowly drew her card. "Kaboom," Nicholas grinned.

The Blast Sphere blew up causing a large explosion which pushed Sonomi back a bit but not so much that she couldn't activate her face down, So: (5600) "Go Back Fire! Now you'll take an extra 500 points!"

"And yet, my Barrel Behind the Door says otherwise," he grinned as a golden gun appeared in his hand. The flames went into the gun and he pulled the trigger firing it at Sonomi hitting her in the shoulder. She called out in pain as she grabbed her shoulder. So: (5100)/Ko: (5200)/Gr: (5550)

"Are you alright?" Kokuro asked her worriedly.

"Don't worry about me," Sonomi growled. "I can handle myself." She grabbed a card and placed it on the disk, "I summon Flame Ruler!" she announced as a man in red robes with wild blue hair appeared on the field. (1500/1600) "Attack his face down monster!" she called out. Flame Ruler spit out a mouthful of flames which streamed towards an old decaying mummy that appeared on the field. (1000/1800)

"Not only is its defense higher, but my Poison Mummy will now show you what the Pharaoh's Curse truly is." A spore of gas went throughout the field causing Sonomi to start coughing. "The Pharaoh's Curse is nothing more than all the poisonous spores that have collected throughout the ages. And this poison will take away five hundred of your life points." So: (4300)

"Sonomi!" Mia and Kokuro called out.

"I'm fine," she shouted back. "I end my turn," she growled.

Nicholas drew a new card and then stomped out his old cigarette before lightning another. "Nicholas, it's my turn," Grive said from the sidelines.

Nicholas looked over and shrugged, "Sure, I could go on a cigarette break," he said stepping out.

"Time to die," Grieve said coming out. Ko: (5700)

"I want a balloon doggy!" Sonomi shouted out to him.

"How about a Cheerful Coffin?" Grieve asked not letting the remark bother him. "I use it to drop my Vampire Lord to the graveyard," he announced as he discarded a card to his graveyard. "Now I activate Book of Life!" he announced. "I resurrect Vampire Lord and then remove Thestalos from your graveyard!" he announced. Vampire Lord appeared on the field grinning evilly as the soul of Thestalos shot out of Sonomi's disk before entering the Book.

"You make creepy balloon animals," Sonomi said smirking.

"Laugh all you'd like," he replied. "I'm sacrificing Vampire Lord to summon Vampire Genesis!" he announced. Vampire Lord suddenly became a huge monster with large muscles, purple skin, large wings, and large fangs all throughout his mouth. (3000/2100) "I'm setting one under the table and one on guard," he announced as a vertical and horizontal card appeared. "Now, Vampire Genesis, wipe out Flame Ruler!" he announced.

Sonomi braced herself as a large shockwave came across the field as Vampire Genesis brought a huge fist down onto the Flame Ruler destroying him instantly. So: (2800) "I activate Grave of Enkindling!" Sonomi called out as her trap rose up. "Now, we each get to special summon a monster on guard, and I choose UFO Turtle," she announced as the small turtle appeared on the field. (1400/1200)

"And I'll return my Pyramid Turtle to the field," Grieve announced as the turtle appeared on the field. (1200/1400) "My turn is done."

"My move," Sonomi announced pulling her card. Ko: (6200)/Ni: (5300) "I set a monster on guard," she said as she placed a card on her disk. "Go."

"Very well," Grieve drew. "You die," he grinned.

"Just try it," Sonomi glared.

"I reverse Call of the Haunted," he announced. "And I bring back the Barrel Dragon my brother discarded for Tribe Infecting Virus," he announced. As a huge mechanical dragon appeared on the field with three large barrels. "Now, all I have to do is toss three coins, if at least two are heads, I get to destroy something."

"Then flip," Sonomi said roughly, although inside she was nervous.

Grieve tossed out three coins from his pocket which landed on the field, two of which were heads. "Just enough he grinned." Barrel Dragon's cannons charged and a round of bullets were fired destroying UFO Turtle.

'This isn't good,' Kokuro thought worriedly.

"Barrel Dragon, wipe out her face down monster!" he called out. Barrel Dragon fired a round of bullets into the body of the Solar Flare Dragon that appeared. (1500/1000) "Vampire Genesis! Wipe her out!" Sonomi braced for the attack, another shock wave came through the field as Genesis punched her right across the field.

"Sonomi!" Mia called out. Sonomi was flung into Kokuro who fell down on impact. "Kokuro!" Mia replied. So: (0)

Sonomi got off of Kokuro and turned to look at him, "Sorry," she said helping him up into a sitting position.

"It's not a problem," he assured her. "I was asking for it standing behind you."

"No, I mean for losing," she growled.

"Its fine," he reassured her. "I appreciate the help, I really do." He looked across the field to Grieve and pointed at him, "You may have taken Sonomi down, but you still have me to deal with."

"I'll kill you next," he grinned.

Kokuro knelt down to Sonomi, "Thanks for all your help, I'm confident I can beat them."

"You better," she said looking up at him.

"I will," he grinned. He stood up and walked over to the appropriate position unfolding his disk. "Finish your move. I'm waiting."

"Go ahead," Grieve said in his monotone voice.

"My move," Kokuro called out drawing. 'There's that card that Sariana gave me,' he thought grinning. "I activate MST to destroy Call of The Haunted!" he announced. An electrical wind storm picked up and blew the Barrel Dragon to pieces.

"Next I activate Future Fusion!" he announced. "I discard Black Magician and Buster Blader from my deck in order to summon this!" he called out as the two appeared on the field and merged together to form a magician wielding a sword staff wearing flowing purple armor. (2900/2400) "I can't attack this turn," Kokuro informed. "So I'll set a card under the table and end."

"You've made it too easy," Grieve said drawing.

"Get out of there!" Nicholas called out.

"I've got him!" Grieve yelled back. Ni: (6300) "I activate Wasteland!" he announced turning the arena around them into one of dead trees and dried dirt. "Now my Vampire Genesis is even stronger!" he shouted. (3200/2300)

'All the better,' Kokuro grinned.

"Attack his Black Paladin!" Grieve called out.

"Don't do it!" Nicholas yelled. It was too late, the huge vampire began its massive punch.

"This is for Sonomi!" Kokuro called out as two cylinders appeared on the field. "Take this!" Vampire Genesis' punch went through one and came right out smacking into Grieve whom was flung backwards. Gr: (850)

"I told you not to do it," Nicholas said punching his brother.

"I'll do what I want," Grieve said standing up shaking. "I activate Aura Blast! This card…"

"I don't care," Kokuro said discarding his Skilled Black Magician. Black Paladin jumped up and slashed the card that was just starting to appear on the field destroying it.

"I end my turn," Grieve growled.

"My move!" he called out drawing. Ni: (6800) "I activate Mage Power!" he announced. "I'll also set a card under the table," he announced. He watched as his Black Paladin gained attack and defense power. (4400/3900) "Black Paladin, wipe out Vampire Genesis!" Black Paladin gathered a ball of magic on its staff which it flung at the Vampire destroying it instantly. Grieve called out as the rest of the attack hit him and the field reverted back to the duel arena. Gr: (0)

"You could have had him had you just listened to me," Nicholas said angrily as he walked out onto the field.

"I'm ending my turn," Kokuro announced.

"My move," Nicholas said drawing. "I activate Heavy Storm."

"Oh Hell no!" Kokuro shouted discarding Diffusion Wave-Motion from his hand, the last card in it. Black Paladin repelled the wind that was starting to stir up before it could grow too big to control.

"I activate Premature Burial," Nicholas said grinning. Ni: (6000)

"Of course," Kokuro rolled his eyes.

"I bring back Barrel Dragon," he announced as the large dragon appeared on the field. "Now I activate Fusion! I fuse Barrel Dragon and Blowback Dragon in order to summon Gatling Dragon!" he announced. Suddenly a huge dragon with massive guns appeared on the field, all aimed at Kokuro. (2600/1200)

"Oh man," Kokuro said looking worried.

"I summon Poison Mummy," he called out as his nauseating Mummy appeared on the field. "Now I flip three coins, for the number of heads I have, I can blow something up!" Two heads appeared and Gatling Dragon began spinning around blowing holes into Poison Mummy and Black Paladin.

"Not nice," Kokuro growled.

"Gatling Dragon, attack directly!" Nicholas said grinning widely. The Gatling Dragon shot a number of bullets at Kokuro which all made contact. Kokuro screamed out as he fell to the ground. Ko: (4100) "Hahaha, that was for Grieve! Make your move, if you can!"

Kokuro was knocked out though. Although he had had some time on the sidelines, he was exhausted. He lay there, unable to move. He heard the voice of Sonomi and Mia call out to him, and finally, the spirits of the Kuriboh's they had made friends with. He looked up in the blackness of his mind and saw the three Kuriboh's all sitting there, encouraging him to stand up.

Kokuro finally stood up, a look of determination on his face. "My. Move," he said drawing. "I reverse my face down Graceful Charity," he announced as it revealed itself. He drew three times and discarded two. "I set one under the table and end."

"All the better for me," Nicholas grinned drawing. "Gatling Dragon, another attack!" The bullets began to be pumped out but before they could reach Kokuro, a large wall of light had appeared in front of him. Ko: (1100)

"I paid three thousand Life Points to keep myself safe," Kokuro explained.

"It won't matter in the end," Nicholas said smirking. "I summon Gear Golem the moving Fortress," he announced as a giant gear monster with spiked shields appeared on the field. (800/2200) "I end my turn."

"My move," Kokuro drew. "I activate Premature Burial!" he announced. Ko: (300) and I use it to bring back the Black Magician of Chaos I discarded!" he announced as his blue armored magician appeared on the field. (2800/2600) "Using its ability, I bring back Mage Power and once again activate it!" Kokuro took Mage Power and equipped it to his mage which grew in attack strength. (4300/4100) "Then I activate Riryoku!" he announced as he took half of Gatling Dragon's attack power and gave it to his magician. (5600/4100) "Black Magician of Chaos, wipe out his Gear Golem!" he announced. Black Magician of Chaos created a ball of purple and blue magic which it fired at the Gear Golem destroying it instantly.

Nicholas covered himself as his Life Points fell drastically. Ni: (1200) "You punk!" he glared.

"I end my turn," Kokuro said grinning. "And I wouldn't use Gatling Dragon's ability if I were you. If you do, and you get more than one heads, you have to destroy a monster, which means your own monster will fall."

Nicholas angrily drew his card and laughed manically. "I activate its ability!"

"You can't be serious," Kokuro said shocked.

Nicholas threw here coins into the air and all three landed on heads, "Gatling Dragon, destroy everything!" he announced. Gatling Dragon began spinning around at high speeds firing bullets, the bullets penetrated the wall of light and went on to blow the Magician to pieces. It finally exploded while spinning, and pieces of holographic metal flew over the arena. "Boom!" Nicholas said laughing.

"You're crazy!" Kokuro said taking a step back.

"Maybe so, but I'll still win," he said placing a card into his Duel Disk. A large, blue cannon appeared on the field. It seemed like an ancient model, but I still looked powerful. "On my next standby phase, my Wave-Motion Cannon will have enough strength to wipe out one thousand of your Life Points. The final blast will force you to lose!"

"You're a fool," Kokuro said grinning. "You've left yourself open to a direct attack." Kokuro drew his card and then played White Magician Pikeru. The small magician in the white gown appeared on the field smiling. (1200/0)

"No!" Nicholas shouted. "This isn't right!"

"Pikeru! Attack Nicholas directly!" he called out. Pikeru gathered a colorful ball of energy and fired a rainbow beam of magic at Nicholas. The attack hit him square in the chest, and while he didn't feel pain, he fell to his knees anyway, ashamed. Ni: (0)

The audience began to cheer as the holograms vanished. Kaiba stood up and took a microphone, "And the winner of the Tag Team Duel is Kokuro Samé and Sonomi Hinote, meaning Kokuro gets to stay here at the academy." He walked up towards the arena and looked straight at Kokuro, "Kokuro, this duel is like a second chance. But it's the only other chance you get. Do something expulsion worthy again, and there will be no duel. Understand?"

"Understood," Kokuro said gulping.

Kaiba moved over towards Sonomi and whispered, "I need you in my office." He walked off towards Nicholas and took the cigarette out of his mouth and stomped it out, "I told you no smoking in my academy," he glared.

"Sorry," Nicholas said nervously. He stood up while Grieve walked next to him, "Hey kid."

Kokuro turned to look at him, "What is it?"

Nicholas paused for a moment before smirking and making a gun with his hands, "You got some good moves. Don't mess up." He made a clicking sound at Kokuro before walking off with Grieve.

Kokuro stood there smiling as Mia, Yaku, Jordan, Katsu, Fuuten, Selaya, and Kazuki all came up to him, "Congratulations," Kazuki said shaking his hand. "If you had left, let's just say that things would have gotten boring."

"I'm glad I'm not going anywhere," Kokuro smiled as he accepted congrats from his friends. "But I wouldn't have been able to do it without Sonomi," he said looking over at her.

Sonomi was walking away, but stopped just long enough to look over at him, "Like I said when we began; it would have sucked if one of the best duelists here had to leave because he stood up for what he believed in. It's the only reason I helped you." She began walking off leaving the others to stare at him.

"Did you like…do something to her?" Jordan asked fearfully.

"No!" Kokuro shouted at him. He then turned to Sonomi and sighed. 'I don't know what it will take, but I'm going to make you like me again. Somehow.'

Sdrive: Well, it looks like Kokuro's in the clear with Kaiba, but what about Sonomi? As Parent's night grows closer, things are still uneasy between the two of them. And what's this? Three O'clock is coming up! The mystery of Ami's almost revealed. Stay tuned!


	41. A Day of Anticipation

Sdrive: Not mine! I meant to post this last friday, last friday turned into last saturday, which turned into last sunday which jumped straight to last thursday after that. HOWEVER, I definetly meant to update yesterday...but I want to a midnight showing of Pirates with my acting friends and that lasted until 3, then a friend of mine (whom I _kinda _have a crush on) needed a ride home so I took her home, and didn't end up getting home till around 4 in the morning, and then got to sleep until 7 when I needed to wake up to get my younger brother up to go to school, then I slept till 12...then work...and yeah...All that boring info you didn't need. Anyway, here's the next chapter! Whoo!

P.S. Although he didn't review, he still e-mailed me his guesses, and Flare Phoenix got the question right. I'm still going to give points to Peace though since he was so good at keeping quiet. Congrats guys.

* * *

Kokuro and Mia had returned to their room and were unpacking all of Kokuro's things. "Now, you're not allowed to leave me until never ok!" Mia said to Kokuro as she pulled out one of his shirts. 

"Ok," he said smiling. He walked over and hugged her. "Thank you," he said. "If it weren't for you, I don't know if I could have ever made the decision to come back."

Mia looked up and smiled, "Just doing my job as the best friend in the world."

They continued unpacking until everything was back the way it was supposed to be. "Care to go running?" he asked.

"You bet!" she said smiling.

* * *

Sonomi was allowed into Kaiba's office where she saw Kaiba looking worriedly out the large window behind him. "You wanted to see me Master Kaiba?" she asked with worry in her voice.

"Yes," he said turning around to see her. He noticed her look and sighed, "No, you're not in trouble. I need a favor from you."

Sonomi let out a sigh of relief and walked further into the room until she was standing by the desk, "what is it?" Kaiba didn't say anything, and instead kept looking at her, "Is something wrong?"

Kaiba snapped out of it and sighed, "Sorry, I was remembering when I met you for the first time six years ago." He stared at her for another second, "you remember how we first met right?"

Sonomi nodded. "It all started because of Battle City."

Kaiba nodded, "Your father's company had been a long time aide to the Kaiba Corporation. Because of the fact that your fathers company specialized in computer parts and programming it made it the perfect ally for the old Kaiba Corp, and the new. Your father was, and still is, a Pro Duelist, and even though he originally funded my step father, Gozaburo, he continued on to aide me when I took control. When he found out about my plans for Battle City, he immediately stepped in to get you an invitation."

"_I heard that you're starting your own tournament," a man of thirty years with slightly graying hair wearing an expensive looking black suite said to a much younger Seto Kaiba._

"_So I am," Kaiba said looking out the glass of the Kaiba Corp window. "And what do you care?"_

"_I heard that it was invitation only, only the best duelists are allowed to join in."_

"_Yeah, so?" Kaiba asked getting irritated. "You have your invitation, what more do you want?"_

"_I want you to drop me out and extend the invitation to my daughter, Sonomi, instead."_

"_And why should I do that?" Kaiba asked looking at him with narrowed eyes._

"_She's my company's poster girl," he said grinning. "And not only that, she's one of the best duelists there is. She would make a great addition to your tournament, and I can guarantee that she'll make it to the Battle City Finals."_

"_You really think she's good enough to drop your own invitation?" Kaiba asked._

"_She's not better than me, but like I said, she's the poster girl of my company. Think of the publicity. If she's accepted in, millions will continue to do business with my company, and I can continue to fund yours. After all, that's what friends do."_

"_I'm not your friend," Kaiba said. "I understand that your company has helped out the Kaiba Corporation multiple times, but don't you dare think that makes you a friend of mine."_

"_Fine, that's what businesses that are in league with each other do," he answered._

_Kaiba sat down and pondered it for a minute, "Alright Hinote, you win. I'll give the invitation to your daughter. Personally I think you're a fool to pass up this opportunity, but you can run your business the way you want, and I'll run mine the way I want."_

"_You won't be disappointed," Mr. Hinote said shaking Kaiba's hand. "You're a wise young man."_

"I could have won that Tournament too," Sonomi said growling.

"You did get quite far," Kaiba mentioned. Sonomi stared at Kaiba while thoughts ran through her head.

"_And what are you going to do now?" a kid asked her. "You have no more monsters, and I still have one attack left."_

"_You used Raigeki," a much younger Sonomi said. "Of course I don't have any more monsters. And what's this about you have one more attack left? You only have one monster and it's the _only _attack you have."_

"_Shut up!" the kid yelled. "Android Psycho Shocker, attack her directly!" The large robot shot a beam of energy at her from its optical sensors which struck Sonomi in the chest. So: (900) "Make your move or surrender, I don't care which," the boy said._

"_Regret those words," Sonomi said smirking. "They may just be your last." She drew her card and smiled, "What do you know? I was right."_

"_What do you mean?" he asked as suddenly flames appeared around the field and rose up into the form of a large flaming phoenix. (2400/1600) "What the hell?"_

"_You're an idiot," she replied. "That's what. If you destroy my Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys in any way other than battle, it comes back. And now I activate Volacanic Eruption," she said as the area around them became a large flowing volcano. "That gives Sacred Phoenix more attack points than your Android," she smirked. (2900/1200) "I'm also summoning Solar Flare Dragon," she announced as the large snake like pyro appeared. (1500/1000 – 2000/600) "Sacred Phoenix, attack!" she called out._

_The Phoenix flapped its fiery wings causing thousands of embers to kick up and melt the robot in front of it. Kid: (2500) "No!" the kid called out._

"_Solar Flare Dragon!" she called out. Solar Flare Dragon spit out a burst of fire which knocked into the kid. Kid: (500) "I end my turn, and let Solar Flare Dragon finish you off," she said turning around as she began to walk away. Solar Flare Dragon shot another burst of fire which collided with the kid behind her. Kid: (0)_

_Tons of newspaper reporters tried to interview her, but she ignored them and looked on. She saw a small, cute girl with long brown hair not too far away from the reporters. She watched as the girl pulled a card from her deck. She caught a quick glimpse at the name, but only saw the first word. Silent._

_She tried to push through the crowd, but they wouldn't let her go. When she finally got through she went to go see the girl who had just finished her duel. "What was that card?" She asked the girl who was placing her cards back in her disk._

"_Which one?" the girl asked Sonomi._

"_The one you just drew," Sonomi replied._

"_I'd like to tell you, but I'm afraid you might challenge me and know some secrets about my deck," the girl replied. "Maybe if we see each other after the tournament I'll tell you."_

"_Why not duel now?" Sonomi asked._

"_Sorry, I'm a little tired. Maybe some other day?"_

"_Whatever," Sonomi said walking off._

"_Good luck," the other girl called back._

Sonomi's eyes widened momentarily. She had forgotten all about that memory, but it finally made sense. She smiled as Kaiba looked at her, "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "I just realized something, that's all."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow but shrugged it off. "A little later, after the tournament, I was invited to a banquet at your father's mansion, and we finally met face to face."

"_I can't tell you how disappointed I was that you lost against that shorty," Mr. Hinote was telling Kaiba who was dressed in a white suite along with Mokuba who was in a black one._

"_I thought you promised you wouldn't bring that up," Kaiba said glaring._

"_My mistake," Mr. Hinote said grinning. "Anyway, I'd like you to meet my daughter, since she never made it to the finals." He seemed to be annoyed at the statement but he still stepped aside and Sonomi stood there adorned in a beautiful red dress that went just above her red heals._

_Instead of introducing himself, Kaiba went right to business, "I read up on the reports surrounding your duels. Apparently you had won five locator cards."_

"_And I would have gotten all six, if it hadn't been for that freak with the Winged Dragon of Ra," Sonomi growled. "He came out of no where with only one locator card, and wiped me out when he summoned it."_

"_I want you to know that Sonomi has been thoroughly punished for not making it to the finals like I promised," Mr. Hinote stated._

"_That wasn't necessary," Kaiba said staring at Mr. Hinote. "Marik's card was nearly unstoppable. In fact, Yugi wouldn't have been able to win his duel had I not given him my Fiend Sanctuary card. And even then, it was only because he had two Egyptian God Cards in his deck."_

"_In our family, excuses don't matter," Mr. Hinote said. "Besides, she tried to take a Locator Card from a duelist with only one. How would it have looked if she made her way to the top taking the easy way out?"_

"_From what I found out, Malik challenged her, not the other way around," Kaiba noted._

"_It doesn't matter," Mr. Hinote said. "She still lost, and it was inexcusable."_

"_Sonomi was it?" Kaiba asked. _

_Sonomi nodded, "Yes Master Kaiba sir."_

"_Why don't you and Mokuba go get something to drink while I discuss business with your father?"_

"_Come on," Mokuba said taking Sonomi's hand. "We'll get something to drink and then maybe you can show me where you keep the video games."_

"_We don't play video games here," Sonomi stated. "We duel."_

"_Maybe we can duel then," Mokuba said laughing. "I don't care what we do, I'm just bored." With that, Mokuba dragged Sonomi away from their guardians as Kaiba watched them leave._

"I never held it against you that Malik defeated you," Kaiba told her. "And I'm actually quite glad that he did."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sonomi asked a little angrily.

"Looking back, I think your father's goal was to have you enter the Battle City Finals and defeat me in a duel."

"Why?" Sonomi asked a little stunned.

"I think he wants my company," Kaiba said straight out.

"But our companies have been allies forever!" Sonomi protested.

"Exactly," Kaiba said with narrowed eyes. "He couldn't take it when Gozaburo was in charge, but I think he got delusions of grandeur when I took over, being only a kid. Do you recall an incident a couple months after Battle City? When an organization by the name of Para Dias started taking control of every major company in the world?"

"Yeah," Sonomi nodded. "It attacked your company first, and then almost got ours, but you and Yugi defeated the owner, Dartz, before it got that far, to which we were all really grateful."

"Dartz was buying up pieces of my company until he finally had total control of it," Kaiba said. "And now your father is doing the same."

"What!" Sonomi gasped at the news.

"Your father already had a considerable amount of stock, but now it appears that he's gone after more and more. If my suspicions are correct, he saw how vulnerable Kaiba Corp was when Dartz took over, and is planning to do the same thing again. And unfortunately, he has the money to do it."

Sonomi began to sweat; "I swear, I knew nothing about it…" she began but Kaiba cut her off.

"I know you didn't. He never tells you anything when it comes to business. That's why I need your help."

"What can I do?" Sonomi asked.

"I need you to duel your father and defeat him," Kaiba said out right.

"Duel him?" Sonomi asked. "Why should I duel him?"

"Think about it," Kaiba said. "I'm doing what he was planning during Battle City and turning it against him. If you remember, you pretty much are the Hinote Corporations poster girl, no offense. He throws you out there as the daughter of a Pro and the sponsor of his company. Thank God he never made you do commercials. So how do you think it will look if his own daughter not only turns against him, but defeats him?"

"It'll destroy him," Sonomi said catching on.

"Exactly," Kaiba said smirking. "His stock holders will immediately get rid of their stocks, thinking that if he can't even control his own daughter, how's he going to control a company?" He stared at her for a minute, "I realize it's asking a lot out of you, but consider this. If he gets hold of Kaiba Corporation, he'll not only control the KC Headquarters, but he'll also run the Duelist Academy schools I've worked so hard to build."

"That would mean…" her eyes widened.

"He would not only be your father, but your headmaster. And the very place you thought you'd escape too will become a full time jail."

Sonomi's fists clenched and her face showed one of anger, "I'll do it. I'll take down my father."

"I'm sorry to ask you to do this, but you understand that if I were to defeat him, it wouldn't work nearly as well."

"It's fine," she said. "I'll do it."

"I appreciate your assistance," he told her. "I've arranged for some special Boosters to be left inside your room, they should be underneath your bed covers to that Mr. Samé and Ms. Notosa don't see them. You're excused." Sonomi made a bow and turned to leave. 'I really do feel bad making her do this, then again, I know it's something she's secretly wanted to do all her life.'

* * *

A couple hours later, Kokuro was resting easy in the hot springs. "Running with Mia isn't easy," he said to himself as he let himself slide further into the warm water. He had about an hour until three, and then he was going to finally meet Ami. "I wonder what she's like in person," he wondered out loud. "She seems like a pretty shy person, but I have nothing to truly confirm it."

He sighed as he moved around in the water before finally getting out, drying off and changing. He walked back towards the dorm when Kuriboh appeared on his shoulder, "What's up?" he asked.

"Kuri Kuri!" it replied. It flew off leaving Kokuro to chase after it. He kept running until he finally saw Mia, and next to Mia was Yaku, Kazuki, and Elda.

"Elda!" Kokuro said shocked. "What are you doing back?"

"Kokuro darling!' she called out as she ran over to him. "How are you?" she asked rubbing his shoulders.

"I'm…fine," he said blushing.

"You smell wonderful too," she giggled.

"Down Kazuki," Yaku said trying to hold back a semi-annoyed looking Kazuki.

"Back off Elda," Mia said getting in between them. "He's my Fiancé!"

"Fiancé!" Elda gasped.

"Yup," Mia said smirking. "Him and I are getting married right here at the academy. All the students are going to come, and they're all going to watch as the best girl and the best guy on the island are taken by each other."

"What?" Kokuro asked turning to look at her. He was no longer blushing, now he was just confused.

"They're all going to be jealous when I lean in and kiss him just like this…" she started to lean in and close her eyes.

"M…Mia…" Kokuro said blushing again. He closed his eyes worriedly and waited for something to happen. Kazuki had to hold Yaku back this time. Suddenly Mia wrapped her arm around his neck and began strangling him.

"You didn't think I was really going to kiss you did you?" Mia asked laughing her head off.

"I hate it when you do that!" Kokuro shouted.

"He really thought she was going to kiss him," Kazuki said laughing. "It must be torture."

"Oh shut up!" Yaku yelled.

"Crushes are cute," Elda said. "Just don't let them distract you from those you really love."

"Right," everyone around her sighed as she had a very teacher like look on her face.

"Ho ho, I never get tired of being here," Elda said laughing. "Well, it was good to see you two again, but I've got things to do to prepare for Parent's Night. Catch you both later."

"Bye," Mia and Kokuro responded waving.

Mia took Kokuro's hand and squeezed it tightly, "I'm sorry if I depressed you," Mia said. "I do love my boyfriend very much, but I can't help it if I have a crush on you."

"Seriously?" Kokuro asked.

"You have a crush on me even though you love Sonomi right?" Mia asked.

"Knock it off!" Kokuro yelled. He sighed angrily, 'I can never tell when she's joking or being serious.'

Mia had a kind of dreamy look on her face, "You know what would be good right about now?" she asked him.

"What?"

"Ice Cream," she said getting a goofy grin on her face. Then she sighed, "But I'm poor."

Kokuro took the hint, "Alright, I'll buy you some ice cream."

"Yay!" she squealed suffocating him in a hug.

They went and got some ice cream from the Cafeteria and sat together on a bench enjoying it. "It's yummy!" Mia said licking it.

"And now I'm broke…" Kokuro said thinking about his wallet.

"Join the club," Mia said rolling her eyes.

They finished up and Kokuro got up stretching, "It's almost three. I'm supposed to meet Ami near The Simple Spot. Do you want to come?"

"I'd love to but I promised Setsuna I'd hang out with her today. She's such a nice person and she's always stuck inside the card shop. In fact, the only person that actually goes to just see _her _is Fuuten. So I promised we'd hang out today."

"Alright," Kokuro said. "I'll meet up with you later?"

"Sure thing," she said hugging him before leaving. Mia started walking down the path towards the Card Shop and he spotted someone in back of a tree as she was walking down. She went over to the tree and saw Fuuten with his Kuriboh headband in his hand and seemingly trying to make a decision. He was also wearing a suite and had a bouquet of flowers and chocolate on the ground. "Fuuten?"

Fuuten jumped up surprised and fell on the ground, nearly crushing the flowers. "Oh, hi Mia," he said nervously.

"Are you alright?" she asked helping him up.

"I'm not so sure," he answered truthfully. "I want to ask Setsuna to go to Parent's Night with me, but I'm trying to decide if I should wear my headband or when I ask her."

"You know, the polite thing to do would be to not…" Mia began but he cut her off.

"I know that!" he said. "But I just can't go through with it!" he fell on the ground and sighed. "I really like Setsuna," Fuuten said stating the obvious. "She's the only girl that's ever really bothered with me besides you, and that was only because you had to pair up with me." He sighed again. "But Setsuna…she actually accepted me as a person."

"_Hahaha! What a loser you are FuuFuu," An Osiris Red said to Fuuten also adorned in the Red Uniform._

"_Don't call me that!" Fuuten shouted at the kid. "I'll show you!" He pulled a card from his disk. 'I don't have anything I can do,' he sighed. "I have to end."_

"_Of course you do!" the kid laughed. "You built your deck around a Kuriboh, there are only two types of Kuriboh, the regular and the Hane Kuriboh. Who would do such a stupid thing like that? You know, even the worst duelists that come here have some hope of becoming Pros, but you. You're pathetic. I attack with Insect Knight!" he called out._

"_Kuriboh Defend," Fuuten yelled out discarding a Kuriboh._

"_Oh no, whatever will I do?" he asked looking at his Flying Kamakiri's 1 and 2. Attack him!" he called out. The two Kamakiri's flew towards him and slashed him causing Fuuten to fall to the ground. Fu: (0) "See ya loser," the laughed walking off._

_Fuuten stayed on the ground, not bothering to move. 'Why does it always happen?' he thought to himself. "Why do people hate me because I like Kuribohs!" he shouted slamming the fist on the ground._

_A gentle hand was put on his shoulder and he looked up at the face of a girl he had never seen before. "That was mean the way that kid treated you," she said helping Fuuten up. "I think the Kuriboh's are really cute monsters, and I don't think its stupid if its your favorite."_

"_Thanks," Fuuten said a little shocked. "I've…I've never seen you before."_

"_My name's Setsuna," she said smiling. "I'm the new Card Shop manager."_

"_I'm…I'm Fuu…Fuuten," he stuttered._

"_It's nice to meet you. Do you want to help me open up the Card Shop? There are a lot of things in there and I could really use the help."_

"_I'd…I'd love to," he said walking with her._

"She was the first person to truly be nice to me that didn't need to be," Fuuten said smiling at the memory. "Setsuna treated me like a person, instead of just some kind of freak with a Kuriboh fetish."

"I'm sure she really likes you then," Mia said trying to cheer him up.

"It's just the way she is," Fuuten said sighing. "At first, I thought she really liked me, but I soon found out she's like that with everyone. She's just a nice person, but I can't help it that I still like her."

"Then maybe you should just tell her so," Mia said.

"I'm too nervous," Fuuten said sighing. "I tried to dress up nice but I keep getting shaky every time I come back to the headband."

"Then be yourself!" Mia exclaimed excitedly. "Come on!" she pulled him up. "We're going to give you a make over, and we're going to get you to win Setsuna's heart!" She pulled him along and dragged him towards the Ra Yellow Dorm. "I'm supposed to be meeting with Setsuna anyway, so I can help you and take you with me before we leave."

"Thanks a lot," Fuuten said smiling.

"You just have to be yourself," she replied.

They got into Fuuten's room and Mia was instantly overwhelmed. There was a huge Kuriboh Bean Bag chair in the corner of the room. There were Kuriboh Plushies all around the room, on the desk, in the beds, everywhere. There was a laptop open on the desk that had a picture of the Mighty Kuriboh Army as the background.

"No offense," she said sweat dropping, "but how do your roommates stand it?"

"My roommates got moved into Obelisk during the exams," Fuuten explained. "Until the administration figures out which Osiris' are going to be in my room with me, I have the place to myself."

"Cool," Mia said going to the closet and pulling out clothes, all of which had some kind of Kuriboh reference. "The key is to be yourself, so how about we pick out your favorite shirt, or whichever is nicest at least, a pair of pants, you can wear your headband, and you can ask her to Parent's Night as Fuuten, not some weirdo in a suite."

"I'd like that," he said smiling.

Fuuten started looking through a bunch of shirts, some with just pictures of Kuriboh's on them, others with catchy phrases like, "Kuriboh's "R" Us" and "Use the Force…of Kuriboh's!" Finally he pulled out a brown shirt that said, "Kuribohs Rule! Watapons Drool!" "This is my favorite!" he said grinning.

"Alright," she said pulling out some tan pants, "these should work well with that shirt. Now go change and we'll head down to the Card Shop!"

"Yes ma'am!" Fuuten saluted.

When Fuuten was finished, they walked down to the Card Shop and Fuuten put on his Headband, "Last but not least," he said grinning. They walked through the doors and Setsuna looked up from reading the newest issue of Kuriboh Monthly. "Hey! The newest issue of Kuriboh Monthly!" Fuuten said jumping over the counter to read it.

"Hey!" Setsuna said smiling. "Yeah, you got me hooked on it."

"Kuriboh Monthly?" Mia pondered.

"They have a bunch of funny Duel Monsters comics in it, usually comedy, and they have articles about duelists and everything. It's a pretty interesting magazine," Setsuna explained. "But most importantly, their feature story this month is…" she turned it around and there was a picture of Fuuten inside.

"They had me give an interview about what it was like to work on the set of 'Duel Daze,' and they wanted to know if I'd give them any hints about what's to come," Fuuten explained.

"Oh cool," Mia said smiling. "I'm sure that was a lot of fun."

"Yeah it was," Fuuten said grinning. "Season three starts next semester, you should definitely tune in."

"I think I will," Mia said smiling.

"So, are you ready to go?" Setsuna asked putting the magazine down and standing up.

"I'm ready when you are," Mia said happily.

Setsuna turned around and noticed the flowers and chocolate, "Those flowers are beautiful," she said smiling.

Fuuten noticed them and suddenly got red, "Oh, yeah, well, I was wondering if you'd like them?"

"Really?" Setsuna asked. "I can have them?"

"I got them for you," he said holding them out.

"How nice of you, thank you. I'll need to find a vase though," she said thinking of where she could find one.

"Setsuna…I was…um…well I was wondering if you'd…like to go to Parent's Night with me!" he finished quickly. He waited for what seemed like an hour, but in reality Setsuna replied instantly.

"I'd love to."

Fuuten opened up his eyes, "Really?"

"Of course, you're always so kind to me, and you help me out all the time, I'd be happy to go with you."

"Yippie!" Fuuten said jumping up smiling.

Mia couldn't help but laugh, 'I'm glad things worked out for him.' Once they dug up a vase to put the flowers in, the three of them left to go enjoy an afternoon of fun.

* * *

Kokuro was walking nervously over towards The Simple Spot, 'Well, here we go…' he thought. 'The moment of truth, I'll finally get to meet the allusive Ami.' He kept walking, and looked down around the beach. Somewhere down there, Ami was waiting for him. And he was finally going to meet her in person.

* * *

Sdrive: All righty, the polls are open. Only one person has the best idea of who Ami is and yet that person doesn't even know it. So now it's everybody else's turn. Who is Ami? When you review, put in your best guess, and at the end of the next chapter, the winner will receive, to quote the Abriged Yugi, a super special awesome prize. Hurry! The polls close next Friday! 


	42. Apprentice Magician!

Sdrive: Well, the chapter is here! Ami appears! And I must say, I'm sorry. The original story up to this point was only going to be around 23 chapters. I realized though I couldn't leave it open like GX did and have quarterly duels being in four chapters. So I appreciate the wait, and hereeeeee's Ami!

* * *

Kokuro was standing on the beach looking around for any sight of anyone that might be Ami. There were many people on the beach, guys who were surfing and girls who were watching the guys. There were benches scattered everywhere on the beach for people to just sit and watch the waves.

He pulled a sandwich out of his backpack and began to chow down. He was hungry since the only lunch he had was the ice cream with Mia. Kokuro's eyes scanned the area until finally she saw one lone Osiris Red girl sitting on a bench all by herself. She had long black hair that went just below her shoulders, and a red cap that she was wearing. Kokuro finished his sandwich and walked over to her taking a deep breath. "Excuse me," he said looking at her.

She turned to look at him and gasped. "Oh…um, hi," she said nervously looking at him. "It's um…well it's good to finally…meet you in person."

"I take it you're Ami," Kokuro asked.

The girl nodded nervously, "I hope my messaging you hasn't caused you any problems," she said looking down.

"Well, it's certainly raised some questions," Kokuro said sitting down. "Like, why me? And why haven't you come to see me until now?"

"I…I was nervous," she admitted.

Kokuro looked past her and saw that there was a Duel Disk resting next to her. "You brought your Duel Disk," Kokuro said.

Ami nodded, "I…I've been trying to make myself a better duelist," she looked down to the ground. "I'm not really that great of a duelist," she admitted. "But I desperately wanted to get into the academy. My grades in classes are bad, and my dueling isn't good either. So…when I watched you beat Professor Hikari on the very first day, I found the inspiration I needed to win."

"So that's what you meant when you said thank you," Kokuro said catching on. Just then a thought occurred to him.

"_His deck..." the timid girl said. "It's amazing." Suddenly she ran off back towards the entrance._

"_Hey!Wait up!" the other girl called back running after her. _

_Kokuro turned around to see the two girls running off. 'Must be late for their duel,' he thought noticing them for the first time._

"You were the girl who was running off when I finished my duel against Professor Hikari!" Kokuro gasped.

Ami nodded meekly, "Um, yes, that was me. I watched the way you dueled, and I realized what I needed to do to get into the academy. I was hoping maybe you would…you would duel me," she said nervously.

"You really want to duel me?" Kokuro asked.

"I've been working really hard to make myself a decent duelist. I've been doing everything I could…I want you to see how far I've come…" she said. "So…will you please accept?"

"How can I not?" he asked. "I've been curious about you for a long time," he took his deck out of his pocket and began shuffling. "Crud! I left my Duel Disk in my dorm."

Just then a girl came running up towards Ami, "Ami, I brought the spare Duel Disk like you asked."

"I…I thought that maybe you might not bring yours, so I asked Lyra here to go grab an extra one from a friend of mine."

"Good thinking," Kokuro said smiling. He took the Duel Disk and attached it to his hand activating it as he inserted his deck. Ami cautiously put her own Duel Disk on and inserted her own deck. "I'll let you go first," he said pulling a hand of five.

"Tha…thank you," she said nervously drawing a hand of six. "I'll…I'll set one on guard," she said as a face down horizontal card appeared. "And then I'll set one under the table," she said as another card appeared face down. "That's all."

"Ok," Kokuro said drawing a card, 'I can tell she's not all that confident,' he thought looking down at his hand. 'But a duel is a duel. She said I inspired her once, maybe I can inspire her again.' "I summon Skilled Black Magician!" he announced as his black robed magician appeared on the field. (1900/1700) "Skilled Black Magician, attack her face down monster!" The magician shot a beam of black magic at the face down card. A wall filled with lots of books appeared on the field and blocked the blast with an orb of green light. (0/2000) Ko: (7900)

"That's my Royal Magical Library," Ami explained. "It has two thousand defense points, and whenever a spell is activated, I put a spell counter on it. Once I have three on it, I can remove the counters to draw one card."

"Interesting," Kokuro said nodding. "I'll place one card face down and end my turn," he announced.

Ami drew her card and thought about her move, "I'll activate Mystical Space Typhoon," she said sliding the card in. A vortex flew throughout the field destroying Kokuro's face down Magic Cylinder.

"Nice shot," he smiled.

"Tha…thank you," she said blushing. One of the lanterns inside of the library began to light up. "I'll…I'll summon Gemini Elf," she announced as a pair of elves with face paint appeared on the field, holding onto one another. (1900/900) "Then, I'll activate a spell," she took a card from her hand and placed it on the field. "I activate Magical Blast. Now, since I have two spellcasters, I can do four hundred points of damage to your Life Points," she explained. A lantern lit up while energy was taken from both monsters and fired at Kokuro.

"You've got some pretty decent skills," Kokuro said grinning. Ko: (7500) "It's a shame you don't believe in yourself more."

"I…I guess," Ami said looking down. "In all honesty though, a lot of my deck is based around yours…I'm sorry…"

"She's been trying to work up the courage to talk to you for a loooong time," Lyra told Kokuro. "She's just not a duelist at heart."

"I want to be though!" Ami blurted. "It's just…my skills are in other places."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Kokuro told her. "You may not be the best duelist around, but that doesn't mean you should give up on yourself."

"You…you're right," she smiled slightly. "Umm…my turn is over."

"My turn then," Kokuro said drawing. "I offer up my Skilled Black Magician for my Black Magician Girl!" Kokuro announced as his female magician in sky blue robes appeared on the field twirling with a swirl of pink magic spinning around her. (2000/1700) "Black Magician Girl, attack her Gemini Elf!" he called out.

"Um…reverse trap?" she asked more than stated. A hexagram curse appeared around Black Magician Girl, refraining her from continuing the attack. "My Spellbinding Circle was the closest thing I could get to a Shadow Spell," she said looking down.

'Why would she want a Shadow Spell?' Kokuro asked himself. "Wait a minute…all the spellcasters, you constantly saying you based your deck off mine…this is a Spellcaster Deck!"

"Um, yeah," she said nodding.

"It took you that long to realize that?" Lyra asked sweat dropping.

Kokuro shrugged, "What can I say? I just thought it was coincidence."

Ami was blushing,"I realized how good spellcasters were after watching you win using them, so I modeled my deck after yours. It's no where near as good as yours though."

"I must say, I'm flattered," Kokuro said turning a little red.

"She absolutely adores you," Lyra said rolling her eyes.

"Lyra!" Ami said stepping back nervously.

"It's true," Lyra said shrugging. "She went to the Card Shop practically every day just to buy Magician's Force packs trying to find a Black Magician."

"You're the Osiris Red Bandit!" Kokuro gasped.

"Is that what you've been calling me?" Ami asked.

"You stole every single one practically," he said falling to his knees. "I could never get any!"

"I'm sorry," Ami said truly sorry. "If it makes you feel any better, there were times I couldn't go so I asked a friend to go for me. It was really nice of him but I didn't know it caused you so much distress…"

"It's alright," Kokuro said standing back up. "But…you realize that Black Magician isn't in Magician's Force right?"

"It's not?" Ami gasped.

Kokuro shook his head, "It's in another booster pack."

"Oh…I'm so sorry then!" she said really worried. "I didn't know."

"It's alright," Kokuro said trying to reassure her. "It's not that big of a deal, I've sufficed."

"Thank you for forgiving me," she said truly sorry.

"Well, I suppose my turn is over," Kokuro said shrugging.

"Oh? Um…ok then. I guess I'll activate the effect of Magical Blast," Ami said. "If it's in my graveyard, I can bring it back and skip my draw phase." The card slid out of her disk and she took hold of it. "I'll summon White Magician Pikeru," she said summoning the cute little magician in white robes. (1200/0) "Now I activate Magical Blast," she said sliding the card in. The third lantern on the Library wall lit up as each monster's energy was formed into one ball of energy that fired at Kokuro.

"Oof!" Kokuro said when the attack hit him making fall to the ground, Ko: (6900) "That was unpleasant." He looked up to see Pikeru looking sorry for attacking him and he smiled. "It's ok Pikeru, she's a good person." Pikeru looked over at Ami and smiled.

"Now, since Royal Magical Library has three counters on it, I can draw a card," the three lanterns went out as she made a draw and what she saw made her smile, "I activate Banner of Courage!" she announced as a banner with a fire emblem appeared on the field. "During my battle phase, this will give all my monsters two hundred extra points." A new lantern started glowing.

"No way!" Lyra said amazed. 'She's dueling really well.'

"Go, Gemini Elf! (2100/900) attack Black Magician Girl!" Gemini Elf ran forward and kicked the Magician Girl in her stomach destroying her. Ko: (6800) "Go Pikeru (1400/0), attack him directly," she said as Pikeru shot a rainbow colored beam of magic at Kokuro. Ko: (5400) "I end my turn," she said happily. "Was that a good move?" she asked suddenly worried.

"And you call yourself a bad duelist?" Kokuro asked her drawing. "You don't seem like a bad duelist at all."

"It's because I modeled my deck after one so strong," Ami said smiling weakly.

"Well, let me show you just how strong my deck is!" he announced as he slid the card he drew into his Duel Disk. "Go Premature Burial! I pay 800 Life Points to bring Black Magician Girl back!" he announced. Ko: (4600) The blue robed magician girl once again appeared on the field. "Now, I activate Sage's Stone," he announced as Black Magician Girl held up a beautiful stone. The light that shined from it caused Kokuro's Black Magician to appear on the field. (2500/2100)

"The Black Magician!" Ami and Lyra said together in amazement.

"Now I activate Diffusion Wave-Motion!" Kokuro announced. "I pay 1000 Life Points to have my Black Magician destroy every monster on your side of the field!" Ko: (3600)

'This is just the kind of unbeatable power he used against Professor Hikari,' Ami thought worriedly. 'There's no way I'll win.'

"Oblivion Blast!" Kokuro called out. Black Magician formed a ball of energy on his staff which was released in multiple slicing waves that blew through the library, the elves, and the pink haired magician. Ami was pushed back as the rest of the attack went on to hit her. Ami: (6100) "That's my move," Kokuro said grinning.

"I…I choose not to activate Magica…Magical Blast," she said drawing a card. She sighed in relief when she saw what she drew. "I activate Stray Lambs!" she announced as a white and orange sheep token appeared on her side of the field. "That's all."

Kokuro drew his card and looked at the lambs, "Black Magician, Black Magician Girl, attack the two sheep!" The two magicians jumped up and released corresponding blasts that blew away the two sheep. "Turn end."

Ami nervously drew her card, "I'll…activate Magical Mallet," she said taking her last couple cards and shuffling them into her deck. She drew twice more, "I special summon Watapon on guard," she announced as the small fluffy creature appeared on the field. (200/300) "I set one under the table and end my turn," she said as another card appeared.

"My move," Kokuro said drawing. "I activate Graceful Charity!" he announced drawing three times and then discarding twice. As he drew, he heard the all too familiar cry of Kuriboh. He looked at it and smiled, 'Welcome back friend,' he thought to the card. "I summon Cinnamon the Kuriboh!" Kokuro announced as the brown furry monster appeared on the field. (300/200) "Kuriboh, attack Watapon!" he announced.

"Reverse Magical Hats!" she called out as she took two Black Pendant's from her deck and started shuffling them together with Watapon. "I take two spell or traps from my deck and shuffle them with one monster and put them all face down," she explained. "At the end of the turn, the two spells are destroyed."

She placed the cards on her disk and three hats appeared on the field. "Kuriboh, attack the middle one!" Kokuro called out. Kuriboh ran over and attacked a pendant that appeared on the field. (0/0) The pendant exploded and a burst of purple magic hit Kokuro. Ko: (3100)

"Whenever my Black Pendent is destroyed, you lose five hundred Life Points," Ami explained.

"Black Magician Girl, attack the hat on the right!" Kokuro called out. Black Magician Girl shot out a pink ball of energy at a hat. Watapon appeared and was destroyed. "I end my turn," Kokuro announced. The final hat vanished causing the pendant to float in the air for a moment before shattering and blasting Kokuro with purple magic. Ko: (2600) "You really are a good duelist," Kokuro said.

"I'm…I'm working my very hardest in this duel," Ami said. "I've…I've never made such…such good moves. I'm…I'm glad I'm dueling you with all my best."

"Tell me," Kokuro asked. "Why did you want to get into the academy so badly?"

"I've always wanted to be a Duel Disk creator and programmer," Ami explained. "I've designed multiple disks, I love computers and working with them. The problem is unless I get a job at Kaiba Corp I won't ever be able to get my creations made. And getting a job at Kaiba Corp isn't really easy to do." She took a breath, "So, I figured if I got into the Academy, Mr. Kaiba would notice me and might offer me a job. But I didn't have any good strategies for the game, and when I saw you, I decided to mimic some of your strategies."

"So that you could get in to hopefully get noticed for your computer skills," Kokuro said grinning. "I must say, I'm touched."

"I just haven't been able to be totally truthful with you," Ami said. "I was too nervous, I wanted a way to thank you properly, and I figured if I kept watching you, and possibly made my deck stronger like yours, I could thank you by dueling."

"Well, I must say, you're really doing a great job," he smiled. "I'm happy you were able to get in, and you're welcome. But let's finish our duel."

"Right," she said smiling. She pulled her card and looked at it for a moment, "I activate Pot of Greed," she announced drawing twice more. "Wow," she said drawing. 'It's that card…' she thought. 'If this works…I can win…' She looked to the side and smiled slightly, "I still don't understand it," she said to seemingly thin air. "But I'm glad you're here to help me in my toughest duel."

Kokuro looked at Ami peculiarly, "Ami…are you ok?"

Ami looked up embarrassed, "Kokuro, I respect you as a Duelist, but I promised myself that I would do everything I needed. So I activate Change of Heart, and I take control of your Black Magician!" she announced.

"No!" Kokuro gasped as his Black Magician floated over to Ami's side of the field.

"Now then, it's time I win," she said taking her final card, "I summon…Time Wizard!"

"Time Wizard!" Kokuro gasped as the tiny monster that looked like an alarm clock appeared on the field with his small staff with the clock on top appeared. (500/400) "This is it, if I call this right, you lose!" She took a coin from her pocket and flung it into the air. "I call Tails!" she yelled out. Time Wizard's staff began spinning in circles flying past skulls and Time Machines. Everyone stared in anticipation as the coin fell through the air. It finally landed…on Heads.

"Phew!" Kokuro said relieved.

"Oh no!" Ami called out as the pointer landed on a skull. A dimensional hole opened up and Time Wizard and Black Magician were sucked in while Ami's Life Points lowered drastically. Ami: (4600) Kokuro also watched as Black Magician Girl's attack rose as the spirit of Black Magician appeared behind her. (2300/1700) "I…I have to end," she said.

"Sorry for the rough break," he said drawing his card. "I summon Blast Magician," he said as the mage in red robes carrying the scythe appeared on the field. (1400/1700) "Kuriboh, Blast Magician, and Black Magician Girl, attack her directly!" All three ran forward and attacked her with their own various attacks, Blast Magician used a flaming Scythe, Kuriboh exploded, and Black Magician Girl fired a pink ball of energy. Ami: (600)

"At least I'm not done yet," Ami said.

"Actually," Kokuro said as his face down reversed, "I activate Magical Dimension. Now I can sacrifice Cinnamon to special summon Apprentice Magician!" he announced as Kuriboh vanished crying out happily as the woman in the purple robes appeared. (400/600) The Apprentice raised her staff causing a small orb on Blast Magician's robes to light up. "Attack her directly!" he announced. She shot a small beam of energy at Ami that knocked her back. Ami: (200)

"I don't see how that's going to defeat me," she said.

"I go to my main phase two," he said. "And I activate Double Spell," he announced. "I discard Future Fusion to use your Magical Blast," he said. "Since I have three Spellcasters on the field, you take six hundred points of damage." Another orb appeared on Blast Magician as all three of them contributed to a ball of magic that appeared. They fired the magical blast at Ami knocking out the last of her Life Points. Ami: (0)

"That was a good game," Kokuro said walking over to her as the holograms vanished. He helped her up and said, "And I'm very glad that you dueled so well."

"Um…Kokuro," Ami said looking up at him.

"Yeah?" he asked her.

"Could…could you make me your apprentice?"

"Apprentice?" Kokuro asked backing up. "What do you mean?"

"I would really appreciate it if you tutored me in dueling. Although my main goal is to be a Duel Disk designer and programmer, you taught me just how fun dueling is all by itself. So…please?"

Kokuro rubbed the back of his head and shrugged, "I'd be glad to help you duel…but…why do you want to be my apprentice?"

"Think about it," she said blushing. "This way, I can be called your Apprentice Magician."

Kokuro couldn't help but laugh, "Alright, I get it." Just then, a thought occurred to him, he pulled out his binder in his backpack and flipped to the first page. "I have something for you," he said taking a card out. "However, you have to promise me that you'll use it wisely, and never use it for the wrong reasons."

"Umm…ok," she said. He handed her the card and she nearly dropped it when she saw what it was. "Bla…Black…Black Magician…" Sure enough, it was the Red Black Magician Kokuro had won from Tejin. "Can you really just give me such a rare card?" she asked.

"I'm happy with just one Black Magician in my deck," he said smiling. "Please use it wisely."

"I will!" she said jumping up and hugging him.

"Easy!" he said laughing.

Ami let go and looked up at Kokuro, "Umm…I was wondering….would you….would you be my date to…to Parent's Night?"

Kokuro was shocked by her question, "Um…well, I don't have a date yet so…" just then they heard yelling from the other direction. They turned around to see Kahou running up to them. "Hey! What's your name!" Kokuro called out to him.

"Very funny," he said running up to them. He looked down at Ami and gulped, "Ami!"

"You know her?" Kokuro asked.

"Um…well," Kahou began.

"I started becoming really good friends with Kahou," Ami said quietly. "He gave me that Time Wizard I used in the duel. I've asked him not to tell you who I was…I'm sorry he had to deceive you."

"You knew who Ami was all this time and you let me go crazy! That's so not cool!"

"She also kinda had me buy packs for her from the Card Shop…" Kahou said emabarassed.

"Oh man…" Kokuro said upset.

"I'm sorry," Ami and Kahou said in unison.

"Its fine," Kokuro said. Then looking over at Kahou, "So, what's up?"

"I've been trying to find Ami," he said. "Then I saw you and I came to see how you were doing."

"I'm doing fine," Kokuro said grinning.

"What did you want me for?" Ami asked him.

"Well…I was wondering…if you don't want to it's cool, but I wanted to know if you wanted to go to Parent's Night with me?"

"Really!" Ami gasped. She looked between Kahou and Kokuro, "Um…well, the thing is…"

"I think it's really sweet of him," Kokuro said winking at her.

"Really?" she asked looking at him.

"I think it's really nice of you to ask me, but I think Kahou would appreciate it more if you went with him."

"Um…well…" she looked between the two of them before turning to Kahou, "ok."

"Thank you very much," Kahou said smiling.

Ami looked over at Kokuro, "Can you just promise me that you'll come find me during Parent's Night so I can introduce you to my parents?"

"You bet I will," Kokuro promised.

She smiled and turned to Kahou, "Albright….I'll go with you."

"Hey, make sure you come see my parents too!" Kahou said laughing.

"I guess I will," Kokuro said brushing him off.

"Hey!" he shouted at him.

"Just kidding," Kokuro said laughing. "I'll come meet them too."

"Good, cause I'll have to defeat you in a duel if you don't," Kahou threatened.

"Big words," Kokuro said mocking him. They laughed and after a bit, Kahou, Ami, and Lyra headed back towards their dorm.

Kokuro waved good bye to them and sighed as he thought about his duel with Ami, 'She really was a nice person,' he smiled, and then he began to frown. 'But now I still don't have a date for Parent's Night.'

He headed towards the main academy building, he was hungry again and he didn't feel like dining at the Ra Dorm. As he got closer to the building he saw Kazuki, Elda, and Denkiteki walk out of the building. "Well, if it isn't Samé," Denkiteki said to him. "Faring well after our duel?"

"I've never felt better," Kokuro said staring up at him. It was then he noticed that Denkiteki was wearing the platinum colored trench coat he had first worn when he came to the island. "What happened to your Obelisk Blue Uniform?" Kokuro asked.

"I could ask the same of you," Denkiteki said looking down at him.

"I went back to the Ra Dorm," Kokuro explained. "My friends were there and I wasn't happy knowing I wasn't with them."

"Honorable," Denkiteki nodded.

"You never answered my question," Kokuro stared at him.

Denkiteki grinned, "To tell you the truth, I'm not originally from this school."

Kazuki gave him a look, "Denkiteki…I don't think…"

"Its fine," Denkiteki said putting up a hand to silence him. "I come from East School," Denkiteki explained. "Our dorms aren't modeled after the three Egyptian God Cards, like they are here. Instead, they are listed after the three Magnet Warrior's, Alpha, Beta, and Gama. Beta being the top dorm, followed by Alpha, and finally Gama for beginners."

"That's a pretty cool system," Kokuro said. "So, what would the colors be?"

"It would have been Beta Gold, Alpha Silver, and Gama Bronze, but Gama is more of a pinkish colored monster, so we simply call them the Beta, Alpha, and Gama dorms," Denkiteki explained.

"Ahh, I get it," Kokuro nodded.

"Such a clever boy certainly would," Elda said winking at him.

Kokuro blushed slightly before shaking it off, "So, how exactly do you three know each other?"

"Denkiteki is an extraordinary duelist," Kazuki said stepping up. "Him and I have both teamed up and faced off with each other."

"Really!" Kokuro said excited. "Which of you won?"

"I'm afraid that info isn't something we're going to tell you," Denkiteki smirked.

Kokuro huffed and turned away, "You guys suck," he growled.

A thought then occurred to Kokuro and he turned back around to Denkiteki, "Back when you and Kazuki dueled, did you have the Toon Cards?"

Elda gave a cold glare at Denkiteki, "How does he know about your Toon Deck?"

"I challenged him to a duel when I first got here," Denkiteki said simply. "I had heard the rumors about him and decided to see if they were true."

"As the Product Manager of I2, I must say that hearing this is troubling," Elda said very angrily. "The knowledge of your deck isn't supposed to be common knowledge, even if it is Kokuro."

'Oh damn, what have I unleashed?' Denkiteki thought worried for his own health. "Listen, he was the only one there, so don't worry about it…" suddenly there was a loud voice coming from outside the building. Everyone turned around to see Sonomi running up the steps towards the four.

"There you are!" she yelled at Denkiteki. "I'm still pissed off about that deck of yours!"

Elda gave Denkiteki a long cold stare, "Ok, so there was one other person there," he said nervously.

"Denkiteki!" she glared but Sonomi pushed her back.

"Back off Elda, he's mine!" Sonomi said glaring. "I demand to know how you got those cards! And I'm not leaving until you give me an answer!"

"Listen to me Sonomi and Kokuro, and listen well," Elda stood up sounding very business like. "No one is supposed to know about Denkiteki's Toon Deck. I don't know what he told you, but let me make this clear: you are _not_ to tell anyone else."

"So you know about it!" Sonomi said glaring at Elda.

"Yes," Elda said nodding.

"Then tell me this, are they fake or not?" Sonomi asked. "That's all I want to know."

"They're not fake," Elda told her. "They are real cards, and that is why I can't allow you to tell anyone. And unfortunately, I can't explain to you why he has them, even though I know you're both curious. He screwed up telling you, so I need both of you to promise me you won't tell anyone. Understood?"

"Yes," they both replied.

"Good," Elda said. She turned to Denkiteki and Kazuki, "Let's go, we have some things to discuss."

"See you later Kokuro," Kazuki said as the three walked off towards the Obelisk Dorm.

The two watched them exit and looked at each other kind of frightened, "I've never known Elda to be so violent," Kokuro said shaking a little.

"She even scared me…" Sonomi admitted. 'She said those cards were real…but can I really trust her?' Kokuro looked at Sonomi worriedly.

"Are you ok?"

She turned to look at him and mumbled, "I'm fine."

"You still don't think they're real do you?" he asked her.

"I'm not sure what to think," Sonomi said staring out in the direction that the other three had left. 'Then again, I suppose I don't have time to be worrying about Denkiteki,' she thought growling out loud. 'I have to prepare myself, the biggest duel of my life is coming up.' She felt a hand get placed on her shoulder and looked over at Kokuro.

"Are you sure you're ok?" he asked her.

"I'm fine," she growled knocking his hand away. She turned around and started to head off towards the Ra Dorm. "And I'd appreciate it if you don't touch me." She left before Kokuro could respond.

'Oh Sonomi,' he thought to himself watching her leave. He suddenly noticed a small tear had formed at the bottom of his eye. He wiped it away, and silently walked into the building.

* * *

Kokuro was walking down the hall when he bumped into two people who had stopped walking, blocking his path. He looked up to see Ritsuzen and Professor Hikari. "Well, well," Ritsuzen said smirking. "I suppose I should congratulate you on your victory," he said extending his hand.

Kokuro raised an eyebrow but shook his hand, "thanks…" he hesitantly said.

"If I've learned anything by coming to this school so far it's that you have the dumbest luck in the world, and somehow that makes you a duelist of decent caliber, even though I'm sure Hikari here would disagree."

"I'd watch your back Samé," Hikari growled. "I haven't forgotten the loss you handed me the first time here. I'm too busy to duel you myself, so I'm giving Ritsuzen tips that will benefit his deck. The next time he duels you, he'll not only be fighting for himself, but for me as well."

Kokuro closed his eyes and grinned, "I'll gladly take on the combined forces of you two," he opened his eyes smirking, "And I'll win again."

"Overconfidence will be your downfall," Ritsuzen said smirking. "I'll just be giving it a push."

"I await your challenge," Kokuro grinned. The two stood there watching each other for a moment before Ritsuzen started walking around Kokuro.

"I'd love to stay but I'm afraid I have business elsewhere," he said looking back at Kokuro. "Our next duel is coming soon, I can feel it."

"You just set up the time," Kokuro said back. Hikari and Ritsuzen walked off leaving Kokuro to watch them leave. Kokuro's adrenaline was rushing, 'I still hate him for what he said about me and everyone else, but knowing that I'm going to have the opportunity to face him again just gets me fired up. I almost have to wonder if this is what it was like for Master Kaiba when he dueled Yugi.' Kokuro smirked as he continued walking. 'There was one big difference between them though, at least Kaiba and Yugi were friends. Ritsuzen and I will never be friends.'


	43. Parent's Night Preperations

Sdrive: A quick note for this chapter. Due to the oddness of card wordings on the cards, and no official rulings, I'm taking certain liberties as an author for this chapter. You'll know what I mean.

AN: Sorry my friends, I know this is horribly late, but I've been super busy with work and what not. And if it isn't work, it's the fact that little tiny creatures that live in balls that could fit in my pocket command me to command them to fight with other little tiny creatures that live in balls and that could fit in my pocket daily to make them stronger. Yes, The calling of my original title, before being a writer on ffn, before being a Duelist, the calling of being a Pokemon Trainer has once again taken me hostage. Also the fact that one of my coworker's play and we've agreed to battle when our pokemon are all level 70 and I'm busy trying to get my ultimate team UP to level 70. Thank goodness for Lucky Eggs...or egg in this case. Anyway, I guess my other problem is that Duel Monsters doesn't have my attention like it used to. I started thinking about the original Yugioh and the fact that we're never going to see Yugi and Kaiba go at it any more really kinda annoys me. I really hope Kazuki Takahashi turns the manga, Yugioh R, into an anime that will be released in English. GX has pretty much killed my spirit. Don't worry, I still plan on writing Ra Yellow, and I still plan on continuing all my other stories, Masters and Sky Top, I just really need some inspiration. Maybe I need to go find the Crystal Onix. Isn't that what gave (Hasayo?) his inspiration. Ironic that if that is his name, it's the same as the main character from .hack//Roots.

Wow, this is longer than the actual chapter. Anyway, sorry for the wait. If anyone can think of any cool inspiration that will get me going again, I'm all for it. And I don't mean idea's for this story, I mean some kind of hope that will bring me back to the dueling light. If you can't, it'll happen when my Pokemon phase ends. Damn I miss Bakura and the God Cards. Maybe if there was a good story where the God's are used but it isn't one of those same old, gods stolen, get them back, blah blah blah stories. Well, that's enough ranting from me, on with the fic.

* * *

Kokuro finished eating his lunch/dinner as and he was walking through the hall of the academy. He passed by the office and looked at the door momentarily before leaving. He knew he was treading lightly with Kaiba, and he didn't want to get caught snooping around. He kept walking and soon found Mia and Setsuna together on their way to the Arena. "Hey!" he called to get their attention. 

They turned to look at him, "Oh, hey Kokuro!" Setsuna said smiling at him.

Mia gave him a high five and smiled, "What's up?"

"I met Ami," he told them.

"Really!" they said together.

"Turns out she's not only the Osiris Red Bandit, but she's also Kahou's girlfriend."

"Woah!" Mia said taking a small step back. "Heavy duty."

"Well, I think she is, it doesn't seem like its official or anything yet," Kokuro grinned. "And she's also my new apprentice."

"Apprentice?" Setsuna asked curiously while Mia raised an eyebrow.

"How young is she?" Mia asked.

"Not like that," Kokuro rolled his eyes. "She uses a spellcaster deck."

That got a smile out of Setsuna and a grin out of Mia, "So she's perfect for you. I guess I'll just have to tell Sonomi that you're cheating on her with a younger, cuter girl."

"Hey!" Kokuro yelled.

"Or maybe," she said walking up to him and nudging him while saying, "Maybe you're looking at older, yet shorter and cuter girls."

Kokuro's eyebrow raised in question. "Older?"

"I'm 18," she said grinning. "Well, almost. I'm older than Sonomi and you guys, my Birthday's next month."

Kokuro nodded and gave a glance over at Setsuna that said, 'We'll have to plan a party.'

Setsuna nodded and Mia looked up at him, "Planning a party for me already?"

"How did you…"

"I'm just out to ruin your surprise that's all," Mia smiled cheerfully. She gave him her peace sign and he sighed.

"I guess so," he said. He then looked up, "Oh, Mia…I was wondering. I'm dateless for Parent's Night so I was wondering…if you'd go with me?"

"Almost completely straight out," Mia said folding her arms, "I'm impressed."

"Excuse me?"

"Normally you stutter and stuff," she grinned causing him to sigh in frustration again.

"I'd love too…but I've already got a date," she shrugged her arms. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," he said disappointed.

"How about this," she offered. "I'll take you next time for sure."

"You promise?" Kokuro asked her.

"I wouldn't break a promise with you," she said seriously.

"Alright," he smiled. He looked over at Setsuna, "I know it's kinda odd but…"

"Going with Fuuten," she cut in shrugging sheepishly, "Sorry."

He sighed again, "Its fine." 'This _is _just like High School,' he thought to himself.

"Well, I gotta get going," Mia said turning to them. "I've got plans tonight."

"Alright," Setsuna said. "Thanks for hanging out with me tonight."

"Not a problem," Mia said winking. "And you," she looked at Kokuro. "Good luck finding a girl to take."

"Thanks," he said smiling.

Mia rushed off and left Kokuro and Setsuna alone. "Wanna go for dinner?" she asked.

"I just ate," he admitted.

"Oh, ok," she shrugged. "Dessert?"

"Sounds good," he said laughing and they left.

Mia ran into the shared room where she ran into Sonomi, "Hi!" she said cheerfully to Sonomi.

Sonomi nodded to her while looking over her deck. On the bed was her deck in one pile, a set of cards she had taken out of it, and a pile of cards from her binder and the boosters. "How was your day?" she asked Mia.

"Good," she nodded walking over to her bunk bed. She pulled out her Duel Disk, attached it, and grabbed her deck sliding it into her pocket. She started heading out, "See ya later."

"Who are _you _dueling?" Sonomi asked her.

"Let's just say it has to do with Parent's Night," she said smiling before she walked off leaving Sonomi to give her a questioning look.

Sonomi shook her head and turned back to her deck. 'It's perfect now,' she thought fanning it out to look at it. 'Those boosters have made it the best I think it'll ever be. But knowing my father…' she took quite a few cards out of her new deck and placed them into her deck box before switching them with the cards her deck previously had in it. When she was done, she set the deck inside of her deck box, 'Excellent, now he'll be caught completely off guard.'

Mia walked out of the dorm and headed back towards the academy. She smiled as she looked to her left and her right. Then she looked at her shoulder at the Kuriboh perched there, "It's good to have all my friends with me," she smiled. She focused her attention in front of her until she made it inside the building and into the main Duel Arena. There she saw Yaku sitting on the other side of the arena.

He looked over at her and jumped up, there was a Duel Disk on his arm. "About time," he said.

"You actually expect me to be on time?" she asked jokingly. "I'm a girl, we take forever and then some."

"I noticed," he said reading his Duel Disk. "Are you ready?"

"I'm always ready," she said taking her deck and inserting it into her Duel Disk. It unfolded and she looked across the field at him.

"You remember the deal right?" he asked.

"You asked me to Parent's Night and I told you that if you could beat me in a duel I'd let you take me."

"Seems kind of odd to do it this way," he noted.

"I'll be honest," she said. "I was going to ask Kokuro to take me if he didn't either ask Sonomi or me first. But you came up to me before I saw him and asked me. So I figured the fairest way to settle this would be to see just how badly you wanted to take me. So, how bad do you want me?"

"Enough to accept this challenge," he said.

"Ok then," she grinned. "You can go first."

"But…ladies first…" he protested.

"Yaku, you need to learn, if you're going to wait for a girl to walk up to ya, you'll only find disappointment. We wait for you guys to take us by the hand."

Yaku sighed, "Love is too confusing."

"I do have a boyfriend you know," she said staring at him.

"I meant love in general," he said as their Duel Disks unfolded and he drew his six cards. "Crushes are just annoying some times." He looked at his hand and smirked, "I should warn you though, I've revamped my deck since the last time you saw it."

"I'm ready!" she grinned drawing five cards.

"Then here it comes," he said taking a card from his hand. "To start things off, I'm summoning X-Head Cannon," he announced as the blue and gold monster with cannons attached to it appeared on the field. (1800/1500) "And I'll set two cards under the table," he announced as the two cards appeared. "Over to you."

"Gladly," Mia said drawing. "I'll summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4," she announced as the metallic falcon like dragon appeared on the field. (1600/1000) "I'll also set two cards under the table," she said as she placed two cards in her disk. "Your turn."

"Alright," Yaku said drawing a card. 'Hmm, she has two cards face down. Normally her face down's are used to keep her level monsters safe, and seeing as how she summoned a weaker monster, that must be the case…but what if it's an Interdimensional Matter Transporter?' He pondered his move and finally took a card from his hand, "Alright, I'm summoning Y-Dragon Head!" he announced as the robotic red dragon appeared on the field next to X-Head Cannon. (1500/1600) "Y-Dragon Head, use your ability to merge with X-Head Cannon!" he commanded.

Y-Dragon Head opened a slot on its back and allowed the cannon's attachable spike ball to insert itself onto the monster raising X-Head's attack and defense power. (2200/1900)

"Not too shabby," Mia smiled.

"I told you I've gotten better," Yaku said. "The old Yaku would have fused instantly, or waited for Z-Metal, but I'm going to protect X-Head, just incase you have something waiting." 'Also…it'll hopefully give me the chance to keep Y-Dragon on the field long enough to make it to my next turn.' He looked down at the Z-Metal Caterpillar in his hand.

'Look's like he's really thinking it through,' Mia thought smiling.

"Go X-Head Cannon, attack Horus!" Yaku commanded as the cannons charged on X-Head.

"Sorry but I'm activating the effect of Shadow Spell!" Mia announced as chains shot from her card and wrapped around X-Head Cannon. "However, I'm activating it during the damage step, meaning your X-Head Cannon continues its attack!"

"But why?" Yaku asked as he noticed his monsters decrease. (1500/1900) "Oh no!" The cannons fired but Horus was faster. If flew up and blasted the cannon with black fire. Y-Dragon detached itself and was destroyed instead.

"Good bye," she smiled waving. Ya: (7700)

"Not for long!" Yaku announced as his face down reversed. "I activate Roll Out! Now I can take one Union Monster and equip it to an appropriate monster," he announced. "So I'll reequip Y-Dragon Head to X-Head Cannon!" he announced. The parts of Y-Dragon Head flew together and reassembled the machine before returning to X-Head Cannon. "That was close."

"Aww man," Mia said disappointed. "I have to destroy it again."

"I end my turn," Yaku announced.

"And that activates Horus's effect," Mia grinned.

"But…you didn't destroy X-Head Cannon," Yaku protested.

"I did some research on your cards before I came here," Mia said grinning. "Horus says that 'during the End Phase of a turn that it destroys a monster as a result of battle,' it can level up blah, blah, blah. And your Y-Dragon Head, if I read it correctly, says that 'If the monster that this card is equipped to _is destroyed in battle, _this card is destroyed instead.'" She watched as her dragon got larger and more powerful. (2300/1600) "Looks like I'm right," she grinned. "If your Y-Dragon said…_would be destroyed _as a result of battle, then you'd probably win that fight."

Yaku growled, "Fine, I'm still ending."

"I know," Mia grinned. She drew her card. "Now, I summon Silent Swordsman LV3!" she announced as her small swordsman with the long blue trench coat, orange hair, tall, long sword, helmet, and white gloves appeared on the field. (1000/1000) Its Mamodo looking eyes stared across the field at Yaku and his machines. Yaku smiled looking at the tiny swordsman.

"Oh boy," he thought.

"Horus, attack X-Head Cannon!" she announced. Horus flew up and fired a larger stream of dark, black fire that incinerated the Y-Dragon Head that got in its way. X-Head Cannon's attack power decreased (1100/1500) while Yaku's Life Points lowered. Ya: (6900) "I end my turn, and just like with Horus level 4, I can special summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8!" she announced as Horus grew larger once more and roared louder than before. (3000/1800)

Yaku began to sweat a little as he drew his card, "This may just work," he said smiling. He turned to look at Horus and grinned, "I activate Level Conversion Lab!" he announced as his face down trap reversed itself. "Now, I show you one card in my hand," he flipped over the Blowback Dragon he had just drawn. "And the machine will randomly decide what level it becomes. If it becomes a one though, I have to discard it."

"Alright," Mia said staring at the giant machine. The huge machine shot out a die as a giant mechanical dragon with a laser gun for a head was placed inside of a huge tube. The die spun across the room until if finally landed on two. The machine converted Blowback Dragon's level to two and released it to the field. (2300/1200)

"I summon it!" he called out placing the card on the disk.

"This isn't good," Mia thought worriedly.

"You haven't even seen the worst of it," Yaku grinned. "Now I can activate its effect. I flip three coins, if I get two or more heads, I can destroy one card on your side of the field, and your Horus is going to be its target. Yaku took three coins out of his pocket and flipped one of them. It fell on the floor as a heads. A charge began to build up in Blowback Dragon's gun.

"Eh…" Mia said nervously.

Yaku flipped the next coin which landed on tails, the dragon did nothing. He flipped the final coin which seemed to go in slow motion before hitting the ground landing on heads. "Yes!" Yaku cheered as the cannon charged further and shot a massive ray of energy at Horus.

There was a huge explosion causing a large smoke cloud to appear. As the smoke started clearing, he could have sworn that one of Mia's trap cards had vanished, but he shrugged it off. "Blowback Dragon, attack Silent Swordsman!" he announced.

"No!" Mia called out as the dragon shot another beam of energy. Silent Swordsman tried to defend itself but the blast was to powerful and he shattered. "Silent Swordsman," she said upset. Mia: (6700)

"My turn is over," Yaku said grinning triumphantly.

"Too bad your Blowback Dragon won't be around for much longer," Mia said as a large machine appeared on the field. It began to spit out particles until the particles transformed completely into Horus LV8.

"I thought I saw a trap card…" Yaku said worriedly.

"My Interdimensional Matter Transporter saved my Horus at the last second," she said drawing. "Now it's time to pay you back for my Silent Swordsman," she said placing a card on her disk. "I summon Ultimate Insect LV3," she said as a rather large larva monster appeared on the field. (1400/900) "Horus, attack Blowback Dragon!" she called out.

A massive burst of black fire erupted from Horus melting the mechanical dragon that had just stood there moments ago. Ya: (6200) "The only one left is my X-Head," he said worriedly.

"And due to my Shadow Spell, it's weaker than my Ultimate Insect," she said. "Attack!" Ultimate Insect squirmed over and began to crawl on top of the weakened machine and smashed it on the ground a couple of times before X-Head shattered. Ya: (5900)"My turn is over," she said.

'That was my last line of defense,' he thought. 'Well, I have _one _more,' he looked down at his face down. 'But I need to save it for after that insect is gone or else it won't work.' He drew his card and smirked, 'and this will do the job, hopefully.' He placed it face down, "One on guard, back to you."

"Gladly," Mia drew her card. "Alright, Ultimate Insect, evolve!" she called out. Ultimate Insect began to into a giant silver but with long thin legs and very sharp spikes all around it. (2300/900) "Now that it's evolved into LV5, it'll weaken all your monsters by five hundred attack points," Mia grinned. "It's not looking very good for you."

"I'll find a way around it," he growled.

"Perhaps you will," she said. "But for now; Ultimate Insect, attack the face down monster!" Ultimate Insect began to fire needles at the monster, but a red orb with long metal protrusions appeared and flew towards the insect penetrating its skin.

"You've attacked Adhesive Explosion," Yaku said grinning. "Now, next turn, your Ultimate Insect will make an ultimate explosion."

"We'll see about that," Mia said. "Horus, direct attack with Amatarasu!"

'Here we go,' Yaku said knowing this was coming. The massive stream of black fire engulfed Yaku and it sent him flying across the field to where he almost fell off. Ya: (2900)

"That…hurt," he admitted.

"I hope it didn't hurt too badly," Mia said suddenly worried. "I got so caught up in the duel, I forgot that might hurt a bit."

"I'll be fine," he said standing up. "I'm an Obelisk Blue after all."

"And I'm a Ra Yellow kicking your butt, your point?"

"Um…" he didn't have a response.

"Thought so," Mia said smirking. "It's cool that you're in Obelisk and everything, but most Obelisk Blues think too highly of themselves and put up too much of a tough guy act. In case you haven't noticed, tough guys aren't my thing."

"I'm a guy," Yaku shrugged. "I have to put up a though guy routine every now and then."

"I suppose," Mia said rolling her eyes. "But I'll accept it only because I know you're not," she stuck her tongue at him and he felt his manhood slowly go down the drain.

He looked at the field and smirked, "Unfortunately for you though, I'm about to have a huge advantage come my turn. Normally, I don't have to think about things too hard when I'm dueling, but you, Kokuro, and Sonomi push me to have to think of everything, so I've had to make some tough decisions this duel."

"I'm sure," she said crossing her arms.

"I have," he grinned. "There are some aspects you haven't seen yet, and that's going to make the difference in the end, just you wait."

"Ok," she said mockingly in a joking voice. She then looked down and noticed that Yaku still had a face down. 'Then again…he hasn't activated that card yet. Has he been waiting for a right time?' She looked up at Yaku and noticed how confident he looked, 'Oh yeah, he's planning to use it, I can just feel it.' She took a card from her disk and slid Ultimate Insect to the graveyard, "I sacrifice Ultimate Insect in order to summon Armed Dragon LV5!" she announced as the two monsters, both the insect and the machine vanished as a large red dragon in heavy armor with spikes all around appeared on the field. (2400/1700)

"There goes my plan for Adhesive Explosion," he sighed but inside he was having a party, 'That blasted insect is gone…may not be the way I wanted, but it's gone and that's what counts.'

"I set one under the table and end my turn!" Mia announced as her card appeared behind her Armed Dragon.

"Awesome," he said drawing. "I'll also set one under the table and one on guard," he announced as his own cards appeared face down on the field. "Back to you."

"Alright," she said drawing. 'Welcome back,' she thought. "I summon Silent Swordsman LV3!" she announced as her swordsman reappeared on the field. (1000/1000)

"And that activates my Trap!" he announced.

Mia watched as the card she was worried about earlier reversed itself. A dark metallic figure began to ooze onto the field. It sprouted metallic wings, claws, legs, and even had a metallic head. (?/?)

"I've summoned Cyber Shadow Gardna," he announced.

"It has no attack or defense," Mia said. 'And he placed it in Attack mode…' she looked at her Horus and at his Life Points. 'If I attack with Horus…I can win…but he _must_ know that. He's planning something.'

"Well, what are you going to do?" Yaku asked.

'I could attack it with my Silent Swordsman…but I don't want anything to happen to him so soon after he just came back.' She seemed to be concentrating hard. She re-opened her eyes, 'I still have Armed Dragon if anything goes wrong with Horus…' "Horus, use Amatarsu! Wipe out that shadow thingy!" she called out. Horus began to charge up its attack when Yaku called out.

"You've activated Cyber Shadow Gardna's devastating ability!" he announced. "Do your stuff!" Mia watched in horror as it began to ooze together and took the resemblance of a near image copy of Horus, only darker. (3000/1800) "Cyber Shadow Gardna takes on the attack and defense of any monster that attacks it," Yaku said grinning.

"No way!" Mia thought worriedly. 'And here I thought the worst it would do is make me take the same amount of damage as him! But this is plain suicide!' Both monsters shot black flames at each other. It was a gruesome battle until both of them got a hit on each other and shattered.

"Now I've gotten rid of your monster and I can begin to play Spell Cards again," Yaku grinned. "Mission Destroy Horus…accomplished."

"Armed Dragon," Mia began a little upset, "Attack the face down monster!" Armed Dragon flung its spike tail at the face down Z-Metal Caterpillar that appeared (1500/1300) destroying it instantly. "Now Silent Swordsman, attack his Life Points directly!"

"Not so fast," Yaku called out as his Call of the Haunted trap reversed, "I'm going to be bringing back an old friend," he grinned.

"No you're not!" Mia countered as her Trap Jammer appeared on the field. The green mist that appeared around the tombstone that had appeared dissolved the tombstone, leaving Yaku with nothing. "Now then, attack with Silent Sword Slash!" she called out. Silent Swordsman swiftly, and without making a sound, ran up to Yaku and slashed him across the chest. Ya: (1900)

"Not bad," Yaku grinned, "You recover quickly."

"I end my turn," Mia announced. "And since Armed Dragon destroyed a monster, he grows stronger!" Mia watched as her Armed Dragon's armor got much larger and much more deadly looking. It grew larger, and the spikes that appeared were much longer. Its tale got a drill, and its wings were covered by large blades. (2800/1000)

"That's not pleasant looking," he said drawing his card. He drew his card and couldn't help but smirk, 'This is perfect for my defense,' he thought. "I set one under the table," he announced. "Now I summon Kinetic Soldier!" A robotic man in blue and purple armor wearing an armor blaster and a laser gun in his hand appeared on the field. (1350/1800) "And so begins the never ending battle of Man Vs. Machine," Yaku grinned. "When Kinetic Soldier battles with a Warrior, its attack strength grows by two thousand during damage calculation."

"No way!" Mia gasped.

"Kinetic Soldier, wipe out Silent Swordsman!" he announced. Kinetic Soldier powered up its weapons and blasted it with a full out blast. (3350/1800) Silent Swordsman was completely overwhelmed and was destroyed.

"Not again!" Mia called out sadly. Mia: (4350)

"My turn is over," Yaku said grinning.

Mia drew her card, a mixture of sadness and annoyance on her face. "I activate a card given to me by Sonomi," she announced. "Pot of Avarice, now I can take five monsters from my graveyard and reshuffle them into my deck then draw twice." She took her two Silent Swordsman, and one of each Horus LV, shuffled them in, and drew twice. "It's not your day," she said looking at the two cards she drew.

"Oh?" he asked.

"I summon Silent Swordsman LV3 for the last time!" she announced as Silent Swordsman once more appeared. "Then I activate Level Up!" she announced. Silent Swordsman got much taller as his sword got much longer. He looked like a young man as his sword shimmered in the light. (2300/1000) "Armed Dragon, wipe out Kinetic Soldier!" she announced.

"Ha! You fell right for it!" he laughed as he reversed his Limiter Removal.

"Oh no!" Mia called out worried.

"This will double the attack power of my Kinetic Soldier," he laughed again as he watched his soldier grow in power. Kinetic Soldier: (2700/1800) He stopped laughing as he saw the attack score. "Um…oops. Probably should have calculated that first…"

"It's over," Mia grinned. "Armed Dragon, wipe it out!" she announced. Armed Dragon's spinning buzz saws on its stomach armor began spinning rapidly. It was fired at Kintetic Soldier, causing a large array of sparks before the soldier was finally destroyed.

"Oh man!" Yaku replied upset. Ya: (1800)

"Silent Swordsman, finish this duel!" Mia called out. Silent Swordsman ran up to him and brought his sword up on Yaku sending him flying backwards. Yaku landed with a thud while the swordsman silently jumped back over to Mia and landed next to her. Ya: (0) "You've been Leveled Up!" Mia said flashing her smile and peace sign as the holograms vanished.

"Aww nuts," Yaku said getting into a sitting position. "Well, it was fun," he said shrugging before he let out a sigh, "I hope you have fun with Kokuro."

Mia walked over to Yaku smiling, she extended her hand and he took it. "I won't be going with Kokuro," she told him.

"What?" Yaku asked.

"I told him I already had a date."

"But…" he said looking at her.

"I didn't want to tell him that the decision rested on the outcome of a duel," she explained. "He'd have probably come and cheered either for my win or your loss, who knows how he would have cheered," she said laughing.

"That's true," Yaku said chuckling.

"Besides, I thought it was very sweet of you to ask me out," she said smiling. "And I was going to say yes either way."

"Then…why'd I have to duel?" Yaku asked.

Mia thought about it for a moment before shrugging, "I don't know, I just felt like messing with you I guess." Yaku face faulted while Mia laughed. "Come on," she said, "Let's go have dinner." The two walked out of the arena together, even though Yaku was in a lot of pain from all the other attacks.

Kokuro was walking through the yellow dorm. Some girls had asked him to go out with them for Parent's Night, but he rejected them because he thought it would have been weird going with people he didn't know. He considered asking Akuma and Katsu, but he realized that he didn't know much about Katsu and he didn't know how his parents would react to Akuma.

'I really want to ask Sonomi,' he thought. 'If I can't go with Mia I would really like to go with her…but I don't really think she wants to be anywhere near me right now.'

At that instant he heard Sonomi's voice shouting, "Drop dead you loser!"

He turned around and started to say objectively, "I am not a…" it was then that he saw Sonomi was talking to another Yellow in the hallway ahead of him.

"Please!" the boy asked. "It's just one day, I'll never ask again."

"A no is a no, no matter how you look at it!" Sonomi yelled again. The boy finally gave up and walked off. Sonomi turned around and saw Kokuro coming up to her, with a lower volume she began talking to him with a perturbed tone, "That jerk wanted to take me to Parent's Night. Can you imagine me going with a loser like him?"

"He's so beneath you," Kokuro said half sarcastically yet half seriously also.

"I'm sure he's a nice guy, but I will _not _allow people to see me on a date with him," she said growling looking back behind her shoulder.

"Heh," Kokuro replied lightly looking where she was. "So…I met Ami today," he said not having anything else to talk about.

That got Sonomi's attention, she turned to look at him, "Oh, really?"

"Yeah," he said chuckling slightly, "She's a pretty nice girl, shy, and very unconfident, but she's nice."

"A female version of Jordan?" Sonomi asked seriously at first, before both of them started laughing. Sonomi hadn't meant it as a joke, she was dead serious, but the irony of it was just too humorous to them.

Kokuro caught his breath and looked at her, "Well, in all honesty, the only thing they have in common is that they're both Red's and she's unconfident. In reality though, she's actually a decent duelist. I mean, no offense to Jordan, but Ami didn't make careless mistakes, even though she was nervous around me. And she also has a goal with what she wants to do here at the academy."

"It's a better start than Jordan," Sonomi said getting annoyed at the thought of Jordan.

"Yeah," Kokuro nodded rubbing the back of his head trying to keep the conversation going, "Ami wanted to be my apprentice since she modeled her deck after mine."

"You're serious?" Sonomi asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Kokuro laughed. "It's kind of cute. For Sleepy Sheep, she uses Stray Lambs, and for Shadow Spell she uses Spellbinding Circle. And I'm not positive, but I think in place of Kuriboh, she uses Watapon."

"I guess that is kind of unique when you think about it," Sonomi said shrugging. Kokuro had finally run out of things to say, and they both just stared at each other for a moment. Finally, Sonomi spoke, "I have things I have to do," she said and she began to turn and leave. Out of nothing but not wanting her to go, Kokuro grabbed her arm. She turned back looking at him, annoyance on her face. "Let go…"

"Please listen," he cut her off. "You see…I…I don't have a date for Parent's Night," he said. "And, I know we're not on the best of terms but…I'd…really like it if you'd go with me."

Sonomi stared at Kokuro for a few minutes, she wasn't sure how to respond. "I…"

"It doesn't have to be anything more than two people going to a formal dinner with each other," he said. "I…I just really would appreciate it if it were you."

"I…I thought you'd ask Mia in all honesty," Sonomi said avoiding answering.

"I…did," he admitted. "I didn't think you'd go with me if I asked, so I asked her instead, but she already had a date."

"It figures," Sonomi said turning her head.

"She's pretty popular apparently," Kokuro said shrugging.

"No," Sonomi whispered. "That you would ask her first."

Kokuro was going to object, but the truth of her words had hit home, she was right. He sighed, "Well, yeah, I guess even if we weren't fighting…I probably would have asked her first."

Sonomi looked up at him and started at him for a minute, he stared at her, and he gently released her arm. After a few minutes she sighed, "At least you're honest." He gave her a questioning look, he knew what it meant, but he wasn't sure if it was a yes or a no. "I'll go with you Kokuro," she said. He started smiling but she cut him off, "But it's only as a favor to each other seeing as how I don't have a date either."

"All…all right," he said looking disappointed for a moment before smiling.

"What's with the smile?" she asked.

"I'm just thinking, spending some actual time with each other might give us a chance to work things out."

"I wouldn't get your hopes up," Sonomi whispered turning around and starting to walk off.

"Hope is all I have," he replied just as quietly. However Sonomi had heard him, she turned to face him momentarily, before continuing her walk. He watched her walk back towards the room, and repeated silently, "Hope is all I have."


	44. Parent's Night! Part One

Sdrive: Disclaimer!

Alright, I'd like the fan's to take a moment to stop while I say a couple words. I know this will be a day late, but I figured it would be worth it to smooth out all the rough edges. I wanted to make sure certain things were said, and in a way that it would sound good. I hope I did alright. This chapter…well, it's one I've been waiting for, for a long time. I'm glad it's finally here. Also, I need to make a couple shout outs.

First and foremost is to D4NNY! Back when I was planning this chapter, way back, a long time ago back, I asked his opinion on strong monsters that could be used for this, original monsters. The original names were altered slightly, because it worked out better for me, and there were a couple cards that I adapted slightly, to work better for the duel. But he helped inspire the deck, and for that I'm forever thankful.

I also wanted to thank Peace Writer and Flare Phoenix. They pester me constantly throughout e-mails to get chapters up, and tell me to hurry up when I'm not working fast enough. I also want to thank all my other fans who keep me going. If it wasn't for your support, there would be no Ra Yellow on FFN, just in my imagination.

I look back at how far this story has come, 44 chapters…most of which it was supposed to be only like 23 or so, as I'm sure I've said before. And we're not even close to being done. The first Semester is almost over, but the action will still be going. It has been truly awesome to write this, and I hope that season two, (which will be a part of Ra Yellow, and not one of the sequels) will go just as well. I'm sure there will be some things that some people won't like, and others that others will, just like in previous chapters. But I'm going to do my best to make sure that in the end, people will be glad they stuck through it to the end. So without further adue, the beginning of the end of Season one! Thanks all, and as always…

Power to the Hikari's!

* * *

The island was a buzz no matter where you went. Everyone was waiting for the beginning of the long awaited Parent's Night. The parents were already boarding ships to go to Duelist Academy while the students were receiving their tuxes and their dresses. Mia and Sonomi were having their dresses dropped off while Kokuro was still waiting for his tux. Mia jumped over to Kokuro who was surfing the net.

"See," she said excitedly holding up a dress inside of a clear plastic bag. It was a beautiful yellow dress that looked like it would go down past her knees.

"It's nice," he smiled at her.

"All students wear tuxes and dresses based on what dorm they're in," Sonomi said not really caring. "We have a few options, but they're all pretty much the same thing."

Kokuro listened and nodded, "I can't wait to see you both in them," he smiled lightly.

Sonomi rolled her eyes and went to hang it up while Mia squealed in delight. "You're going to look so handsome in your gold tux."

"Gold?" Kokuro asked.

"Yellow tuxes aren't all that nice, so they're more gold than anything else," Mia said happily.

"I see," Kokuro said turning back to the computer. He clicked a link on the page he was at and started reading down the list that appeared.

"Whatcha doin?" Mia asked. It was then that a name popped out at her, the same name Kokuro had been looking for. "Samé, Selaya?" she asked.

'She did pretty decently,' Kokuro thought happily. 'Apparently she had some difficulty, but I'm glad to see that she's taking the job seriously.' "My sister," he said looking at Mia.

"That's a tournament list," Mia said looking at it. "Is she in one?"

"My friends, Yamato and Domid, are coaching her in a tournament," Kokuro answered. "She promised she'd win one by the time I got home." He closed out of the window and stood up stretching, "I hope she wins. Our duels will be matched much closer if she does. I'm sure of it."

"I'm going to root for her," Mia said excitedly.

"I'm sure she'd appreciate it," he said. "Unfortunately she won't be here tonight."

"That's too bad," Mia said feeling sorry for him. "I'm sure she's thinking of you though," she said more chipper.

"I'm sure she is too," Kokuro smiled.

It was then they heard a knock on the door. He went over to it and opened it up, one of the security guards in the green uniforms was standing there holding a large plastic bag. "Kokuro Samé?" he asked.

"That's me," Kokuro said taking the bag. "Thanks." He closed the door and moved the bag over to his bead to hang it. "Look's like my Tux is in," he said.

"Look's like it," Mia smiled.

Sonomi looked out at them, "I need to prepare for tonight, can you both leave?" she asked.

"I can understand Kokuro…" Mia began.

"I just need some time," she said looking to the window.

Mia got the hint and smiled sadly, "Alright." She turned to Kokuro and started tugging on him. "Come on," she said smiling. "Let's go for a walk."

"Um…ok," Kokuro said getting dragged out.

Sonomi watched them leave and went to go sit down at her desk. She pulled her deck out of her pocket and began setting it out by non sacrifice monsters, sacrifice monsters, traps, and the couple spells she had. 'Although it's perfect, I can't help but be nervous,' she thought. 'His deck…it won't be easy to beat it.' She began setting the cards out and pulled the ones from her side deck out looking over them.

She would stop every now and then and walk over to the window, 'I need to beat him. Master Kaiba is depending on me…and it'll be payback for all the things he's done.' She clenched her fists and heard the sound of Kuriboh sitting on her desk. She looked over and saw the Kuriboh spirit sitting on the table, on top of its card.

"Sorry Kuriboh, but my friends aren't apart of this battle, it's all me."

"Kuri?" it asked tilting its head.

"I'll keep you in," she smiled. "But other than that, Kokuro and Mia won't be a part of this."

"Kuri," it said before vanishing. She sat back down and continued to re-organize her deck.

* * *

The stars were shining bright over the academy. There were thousands of people on the island, some were in regular formal clothes, while most were in tuxes and dresses. Kokuro, Mia, and Sonomi were all in Yaku's room. Yaku was there, of course, with Kazuki and Elda. Elda was wearing a royal blue dress, while Yaku and Kazuki were in royal blue tuxedos.

"You guys look nice," Mia said admiring the tuxes.

"Hands off," Elda said slapping Mia's hand when she went to feel the material on Kazuki's tuxedo. She wrapped her arm in Kazuki's, "He's mine, feel up your own date."

Mia shot a glance at Yaku, and then looked over at Kazuki, and then back to Yaku. "I don't want to touch him," Mia said mocking disgust.

"Come to think of it,'" Elda said looking at Yaku, "I wouldn't want to either."

"Hey!" Yaku said yelling at them.

"Lower your voice," Sonomi said annoyed. Her deck was resting around her leg, in her dress, while everyone else had their decks out in the open, minus Elda. "You're going to give me a headache before this thing even begins."

"What's your problem?" Yaku asked.

"Don't worry about it," Sonomi said glaring at him.

"Ook," he said taking a step back. He looked over at Kokuro and gave him a look that said, 'what were you thinking?'

Kokuro simply smiled and sat down on the bed. "I don't know if I can take all the waiting around much longer. When are we going to get going?" he asked.

"We promised we'd wait for Kahou and Ami, and Fuuten and Setsuna," Kazuki replied. "Besides, I think we're all dying to find out about Ami," he said a small smile played on his face.

"She's a nice girl," Kokuro said. "Shy, but nice." There was a knock on the door and Kokuro smiled, "Speak of the devil."

They opened the door and were disappointed to see it was only Fuuten and Setsuna, Fuuten was wearing the traditional gold tuxedo while Setsuna was in a pretty pink dress that went down to her knees, "Good evening!" Setsuna said happily while Fuuten was disappointed at the looks he was getting.

"It's nice to see you too," he said as he let Setsuna in and then walked in himself.

"Our apologies," Kazuki said putting his hand on his shoulder. It was then that he noticed that Fuuten's Kuriboh Headband was wrapped around his waist. "You had to bring it?" he asked.

"Of course," Fuuten smiled. "It's my signature."

"You frighten me sometimes," Sonomi said looking over at him.

"Oh well," Fuuten smiled. They heard one final knock on the door, they looked out to see Kahou and Ami. Kahou looked fine while Ami looked nervously around at everyone.

"How's everyone doing?" Kahou asked.

"We're well," Kazuki said looking over at Ami, "Mind introducing us to those who aren't up with the times?"

"Well, everyone, this is Ami, and Ami, this is Kazuki, Yaku, …Elda?" He was pointing at them but stopped when he saw her.

"That's right," Elda said nodding.

"I knew what your name was," Kahou said, "I'm surprised you're here."

"I'm here for both Yaku and Kazuki," she said grinning.

"Oh, ok," he smiled. "We might have to have a Rematch then," he grinned before continuing the introductions, "That's Fuuten, Setsuna, as I'm sure you know, Sonomi, Mia, and I don't think Kokuro needs an introduction."

"A…a pleasure to meet you all," she said nervously.

"We won't bite," Fuuten said grinning. "Nice to meetcha!"

Everyone exchanged hellos while Kazuki walked over to shake her hand, "You've caused us all a bit of concern at first."

"I…I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to disturb you Ishihaka-sempai."

"Ishihaka-sempai?" Kazuki asked.

"Well, you are all our superior," Kokuro said shrugging. "In terms of grades and what not."

"I'm honored, but we're all friends here, honorfics won't be necessary," Kazuki said to her.

"All…alright," she said going red from embarrassment.

"Well, I say we head out!" Fuuten exclaimed. "I'm ready to get going!" With that said they all took hold of their dates and began heading out towards the main building. Sonomi felt Kokuro squeeze her hand and she looked over at him, "Stop squeezing so hard!" she hissed.

"Sorry," he said nervously loosening his grip, "I'm nervous, yet I'm excited all at the same time."

"You honestly need to calm down," she said glaring at him.

"So do you," he said grinning. She was about to object but Kazuki began speaking.

"Alright, from here on out we go find our parents," he said leading the group. "We'll meet up later on as a group and perhaps introduce each other to each others parents."

They all nodded and they walked into building. They walked together until they got to the large dining hall. The room was quite large and had paintings of the three Egyptian Gods on the walls. It had a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling, right above the large dance area. There were banquette tables all around the room, and a good number of people throughout the room. Some were dancing, while others were already with their parents and had begun eating.

They could see that there were quite a few parents walking around trying to find their kids, and vice versa. "I thought I saw my mom that way," Mia said smiling happily. "Come on Yaku!" she said pulling him along.

"See ya guys!" he called back.

They watched them leave and Sonomi saw someone else down in the direction the two were going. "Let's go," Sonomi said clenching Kokuro's hand and going in the opposite direction.

"Where are we going?" Kokuro asked.

"I'm thirsty," she said. 'I can't face him just yet,' she thought cursing herself. 'It's too soon.'

They stopped suddenly when they saw a flash of light on their left and saw that students were lined up to have their pictures taken. "Wanna go get our picture taken?" Kokuro suggested.

"I'd rather not," Sonomi said rolling her eyes. "I'm sick of cameras."

"Excuse me?" Kokuro asked.

"Forget it," she said pulling him away. They continued on walking around the room, trying their best not to hit people.

Just then someone tapped Kokuro's shoulder, he looked up and saw his father with a grin on his face, "Hey, you're a student right?" his dad asked. "Mind telling me where the john is?" he asked.

"Dad!" Kokuro said smiling. He instantly broke free of Sonomi to give his father a hug.

"Good to see ya," his dad said hugging him back. "I didn't recognize you in that fancy tuxedo."

"Uh huh," Kokuro said laughing.

'His dad seems just as obnoxious as he is,' Sonomi thought slightly disgusted. 'Why am I not surprised?'

"And who's this nice little lady you have with you?" his dad asked looking over at Sonomi.

"That's Sonomi," Kokuro said taking a step back. "Sonomi, this is my father."

"I figured," Sonomi said shaking his hand, "Nice to meet you."

"Good to meet you too," he said grinning. "You're not as over the top as Kokuro described."

Sonomi shot a look of death at Kokuro who was laughing nervously, then he completely forgot to be afraid of her, "Mom!" he said as she walked up behind his dad.

"Good to see you son," she smiled at him. "We're sorry we couldn't bring Selaya, but she's busy with homework and preparing for the new tournament."

"I know," he said. "She's really committed to the deal we made, I'll say that. I'm just glad she's doing so well."

"We are too," she said smiling. "And that must be Mia," she said looking at Sonomi.

"Um…actually," Kokuro said nervously when suddenly a blur of yellow caught his eye and he was pounced on by Mia and fell to the ground. "This is…" he said out of breath.

"Hiya!" she said saluting him. She helped him up and dusted off his tuxedo, "I wanted you to meet my mom!" she said pulling him away.

"But…my parents…Sonomi…um…" Kokuro said being forced away.

Mia turned around and noticed Kokuro's mom and dad, "Oh, hello!" she said bowing.

"So you're Mia," Kokuro's dad said grinning. "We've heard a lot of good things about you."

"I'm sure you have," Mia said eyeing Kokuro with a sly grin. She then felt his dad wrap his arms around her shoulder and pulled her close so he could whisper.

"You know, he's so lonely without a girlfriend, and he's mentioned that you're already in a relationship but there are certain things that…" he was pushed away by Kokuro who yelled at him to knock it off.

"Good grief," Kokuro said rolling his eyes.

"I'm just trying to help you out," his dad said.

A woman in a red dress with brown hair that went down past her shoulders and a man in a black suite with neatly combed black hair walked up behind Mia, "Are you behaving yourself?" the woman asked Mia.

"Don't I always mommy?" she asked turning on her heel to immediately face her mother.

"So you're Mrs. Notosa," Kokuro said smiling. "And you must be her father," he said looking over at the man.

Mia's smile faded ever so slightly and she turned to look at Kokuro, "Actually…this is my step dad," she said.

"Oh, my mistake, sorry," Kokuro said. "I didn't know your mom was re-married."

She smiled sadly, "My father…well…" a small tear started to fall from her eye. "He's passed on…"

"Oh…" Kokuro said realizing. "I…I had no idea."

"Her biological father was really ill," Mrs. Notosa said rubbing Mia's shoulders. "Cancer."

"I'm so sorry," Kokuro said looking down.

"That must have been hard on all of you," Kokuro's father said to them.

"It was," Mia's mother said looking at them. "But Mia has pulled through beautifully."

"The day before he died…" Mia said looking at the deck on her side, "My dad gave me my Silent Swordsmen cards."

'So that's why they're her favorites,' Kokuro thought finally understanding.

"He gave me the three LV3's, the two LV5's, and the one LV7. He told me that they were destined to be mine, and he was proud to give them to me. That's why I built my Level Deck. It was the best way to use them."

"You made a wonderful deck," Kokuro said smiling at her as he put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry you lost your father."

"My step dad is a wonderful man though," she said smiling at him. "I'm glad my mom chose him, but I still miss my father deeply."

"You really are a wonderful and strong person," Kokuro told her. "And you're a great friend." He hugged her and she wrapped her arms around him, a small tear falling down her cheek.

"So are you," she said back to him. After a moment, she let go, wiped her face, and smiled, "Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome," he said. They introduced each other to their parents before Yaku came over to tell Mia that Elda, Kazuki, and Kazuki's parents were waiting to meet her.

"I'll be back later," Mia said waving to everyone.

"Bye," they waved back, and as she left, Kokuro couldn't help but see that Mia was even stronger than he knew.

'To have to live like that, and be able to smile every day.' He shook his head, 'she really is amazing.'

He turned around and looked at Sonomi, "What?" she asked.

"Did you know?" he asked her.

Sonomi was silent for a minute before shaking her head, "No, she never told me." It was then that she felt a firm hand placed on her shoulder…a shiver went up her spine.

"I finally found you," a man in his early forties with graying hair said in a firm, commanding voice. Everyone looked up at him and saw that he had a look of annoyance on his face. "I've been searching for a while now."

"I'm sure you have," Sonomi said calmly, then a bit more bitterly she added, "dad."

"So you're Sonomi's dad," Kokuro said looking up at him.

"And you are?" he asked.

"I'm Kokuro," he said walking up. "Nice to meet you."

"I suppose," her father said taking his hand and shaking it. "Just who are you to Sonomi?"

"Her friend, rival, roommate and for tonight only date," Kokuro answered.

"I see," he said staring at Kokuro. Kokuro felt nervous, as if Sonomi's father was staring through him rather than at him. "Well, you don't look like a complete failure at least."

'And what's that supposed to mean?' Kokuro asked himself.

Mr. Hinote turned to Sonomi and held out his hand, "Hand it over."

Everyone looked oddly at Sonomi who finally pulled out her deck and handed it to him. He began shifting through the cards, his stare never faltering. "You've made multiple changes," he noted.

"So I have," she said coldly.

'What exactly is going on here?' Kokuro thought, his stare only on them.

No one spoke around them, it seemed as though there was a strong pressure around the two of them that stopped everyone from speaking. "Your win to loss ratio?" he asked still flipping, not bothering to look at her. Sonomi stood there, not answering. He turned to look at her, "I asked you a question."

"All wins," she said immediately afterwards.

"Excellent," he said, going back to look at the deck, but not before Kokuro spoke up.

"Except for me," he said grinning.

His eyes shot up at Kokuro, and then over to Sonomi, "Is he telling the truth?" he asked. "Did you _lose _to him?" Sonomi's hand began to tremble a bit. She got it under control, but her dad had already noticed. "You did! Didn't you," he raised his voice.

A woman with dark red hair came walking up towards them, and stopped when she heard Kokuro speak up. "Well, yeah," Kokuro said shrugging. "But she fought really hard."

The woman took a nervous step back, 'Oh no…please lord, don't let the worst have happened...'

"How dare you have lost!" he said yelling at her.

"Calm down!" Kokuro said getting defensive. "She fought hard. It was merely luck on my part that I won."

"There are no excuses in our household," Mr. Hinote said glaring at Kokuro. "A loss is a loss. An excuse is an easy way out of trying to be punished."

"I fought him again and defeated him," Sonomi spoke up. Everyone looked over at her and Kokuro raised his eyebrow. "I realize my loss the first time is inexcusable, but I did make it up by defeating him the next time we faced off. Forgive me."

"I shall not…" he began but the woman went up and placed her hand on Mr. Hinote.

"Honey, she made up for her loss, give her a warning only please," the woman told him. "Besides, now is not the time or the place."

He glared angrily at Sonomi before looking over to his wife momentarily, and then finally at Sonomi again. "Although I'm extremely upset, you did overcome your major setback, so I suppose I'll forgive you, this once. Don't let me find out about another loss."

"That's not fair to her," Kokuro said stepping towards him.

"This is family business," Mr. Hinote said glaring at him. "Stay out of it."

"Kokuro," his dad said putting a hand on his shoulder. "This isn't your place." Kokuro had his eyes narrowed but relaxed his muscles slightly.

He went back to the deck and continued looking through the cards. "You still use this?" he asked turning the Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys over.

"It's my favorite card," she replied.

"There are so many better cards that you have that could be used," he growled.

"It works the best with the deck I use," she said calmly.

"As long as it works," he said, anger still present in his voice. He then continued and stopped. "And what is the meaning of _this_ card?" he asked turning Kuriboh over. "Why is a worthless card like this in your deck?"

"I gave her that card," Kokuro said getting his attention, as Kuriboh appeared on his shoulder, visible only to him and Sonomi. "And what do you mean worthless? It's a sign of our friendship."

"A Kuriboh is weak," he said staring at Kokuro. "I can't believe someone who thinks a Kuriboh is a sign of something as worthless as friendship beat my daughter."

"Friendship is not worthless," Kokuro said getting defensive. "Friendship is the greatest gift someone can give to another person, trust me because I went without it for quite a while!"

"You would have been better off had you stayed without it," Mr. Hinote said strictly. "In the business world there are no such things as friends. Everyone is out to get you and your money, there is not a single person you can trust. Anyone who acts like your friend is only using you, and if they're not then the friendship is fake."

"I refuse to believe that," Kokuro objected.

Mr. Hinote got much more annoyed with Kokuro, and then turned to look at Sonomi, "How dare you let someone like him beat you!"

"What do you mean, someone like me?" Kokuro asked.

"You're weak," Mr. Hinote said to Kokuro. "Anyone who values friendship more than their worth as a man is weak."

"Just what do you mean by, 'their worth as a man?'" Kokuro's dad asked holding Kokuro firmly by the shoulder.

"A man has to be strong and rely on themselves. While _teamwork _is certainly necessary for a successful operation, one must never forget that any one of their 'teammates' could turn on them in an instant. So they best be sure not to get too attached to someone, or they'll find themselves out of the profits within an instant. If one trusts too highly on others and gets too attached, they'll only find themselves at the bottom of the food chain."

"Oh, so does that make Kazuki weak?" Kokuro asked. "Cause he beat her too and he seems to care a lot about friends!"

In a snap, Mr. Hinote turned to look at Sonomi, "I thought I taught you better than this," he said with venom in his voice. His hand rose up and the next couple of seconds happened faster than anyone could see. There was a slapping sound, and Sonomi flinched when she heard it. However, she realized that she wasn't the one hit.

She looked up and saw Kokuro standing in front of her, a large red hand mark across his face. "How dare you get in my way!" Mr. Hinote said with anger in his voice.

"Kokuro!" his parent's said worriedly.

"You would hit your own daughter," Kokuro said, anger present in his voice. "And in front of all these people?"

"When one behaves badly, they must be reprimanded; and in a way that will make them remember why they've been reprimanded," Mr. Hinote growled. "Be it man, woman, or child. If I weren't head of my own company, and I were to screw up, I would expect some sort of punishment from my boss, one that would make sure I never failed again."

"I'm beginning to understand why Sonomi is so full of anger herself, why she never relaxes, and why she never goes up in rank whenever she gets the chance too."

"Of course she doesn't" Mr. Hinote said glaring at him. "I forbid her from doing so."

"And why would you do that?" Kokuro asked.

"School is just like a business," he answered sternly. "In order to succeed in life, you have to work hard. You need to toil at the bottom before you can climb up the ladder of success. If you jump at every little opportunity, you'll never grow into anything successful. And if you do, it won't last long because you did not have the discipline needed to keep it. Being a man, you should have learned that long ago. Whoever your father is should be ashamed of himself for not teaching you that lesson."

Kokuro's dad was about to object, while Kokuro glanced over at Mr. Hinote's belt, a deck box was hooked to it, "You're a duelist?" he asked.

"I am," Hinote said angrily. "What's it to you?"

"I thought something like Duel Monsters would be beneath you," Kokuro growled.

"Duel Monsters is a great stress reliever, I'm also a Pro Duelist, known by most in the Pro Circuit."

"Well, aren't you special?" Kokuro asked mockingly.

Thoughts were racing through Sonomi's head. 'This has gotten out of control, I need to make the challenge now.' She opened her mouth, and the next words that were heard were…

"I challenge you to a duel!"

Sonomi looked up, shocked. She hadn't said the words, Kokuro had. "This is between my father and me," she hissed at him. "Stay out of it!"

"It's my problem now also," Kokuro said glaring at her father. "Your father almost hit you in public, and it's obvious that he's the reason you're always so miserable!" Then, in a fiercer voice he said, "If I win our duel, I want you to leave Sonomi alone and let her live her life as she wants!"

"Son, this is not your place," Kokuro's dad objected. "Although his methods may not be at all right, you have no right to tell him how to parent his daughter."

"I may have no right to how he parents, but I certainly have a right to protect a friend who's dear to me," Kokuro said staring at Mr. Hinote.

"Kokuro was it?" Sonomi's mother said. "I know that you're upset because you got hit, but it was an accident so please…"

"Silence!" Mr. Hinote yelled at everyone causing everyone around him to instantly quiet down. He grinned at Kokuro, "Making a demand like that against someone like me has its consequences," he said grinning at the young man. "You obviously don't know your place, and it's apparent that someone needs to teach it to you. So I'm going to accept this challenge, and here's what's going to happen when _you _lose." He looked at Kokuro who didn't seem to be showing any fear. "When you lose, you're going to abandon your life here at the Academy, and until the end of the next semester, you're going to live with me. I'm going to shape you up, you're going to learn every lesson I ever taught Sonomi. In other words, you'll be my adopted son for the next semester."

"Don't do it!" Sonomi yelled at Kokuro. "If you think I'm so miserable why would you make yourself miserable?" she warned. "Besides this is my fight and I…" She stopped as Kokuro walked over to her and placed his hands on hers.

"Sonomi, do you remember what I said when we first met Ritsuzen, and that night out by the cliff?"

Sonomi thought for a moment and responded, "Yeah but…"

"I said that I wasn't going to let anyone insult you or Mia. I also said that I would do anything for a friend; and I meant what I said."

"This is different," Sonomi said looking at him. "This is my battle, not yours. I understand where you're coming from but you need to stop and realize that this isn't your place. It's not the same as fighting Ritsuzen."

"It's no different," Kokuro said squeezing her hands. "If I'm going to back away from this now, then you're fathers already won."

"Kokuro," his dad said stepping up. "Sonomi is right, this isn't your place, there's more here going on than you. There's nothing you can do."

"Dad, I'm not backing down," Kokuro said looking over at him. "This may be their business, but I'm not going to let it continue on. You don't know what I've seen in Sonomi."

"And just what have you seen?" his dad asked.

"I've seen a wonderful person, who's a great duelist, but she's been held back her whole life, by someone who thought she wasn't good enough for them." Sonomi recognized that those were the words she had told him that same night at the cliff. "But I know her. She's the best duelist I've ever seen. Although she lost to Kazuki, I honestly think she could be better. I'm sure now, more than ever, that to her, all she's been doing is trying her hardest to keep her father from hating her. However I saw someone different. I always saw a girl who tried her hardest in anything she did, because she believed in herself, and gave no excuse when she lost. Almost like how you taught me."

His father smiled at him, it was true. His dad _had _always taught him to try his hardest, and had always told him to take responsibility for his own actions. "I understand son, but…"

"I also see my friend," Kokuro said looking at her, still holding her hands. "And I'm not going to let my friends be harmed in any way…ever! Be it my place or not I don't really care. To protect my friend, I'll do what it takes, and bring the consequences on me when the time to face them comes."

His father nodded, "Alright then," he looked over at Mr. Hinote. "A word of warning, you've gotten my son angry. He's unstoppable when he's upset, you should watch your back."

"I don't need to take advice from a man who's too much of a pushover to teach his son the truth about life."

"That's another thing," Kokuro said letting go of Sonomi's hands and looking over at Mr. Hinote, "You've insulted my family. And that's equally as horrible," he walked over to a display of Duel Disks, and grabbed one. Mr. Hinote did the same, and they walked out towards the dance area, where people were already evacuating.

'I…I can't abandon the plan,' Sonomi thought worriedly. "Dad!" she shouted. "I challenge you myself! Forget Kokuro and face me! I've beaten him once already, why waste your time with a push over?" she shouted.

"Stay out of this girl," he yelled at her. "This is a man's fight, and you couldn't defeat me even if I weren't a Pro. You're good, but I'm out of your league in all forms of the phrase."

Kokuro's parents each put a hand her shoulder, "He's fighting for you dear," his dad said. "Kokuro's never been able to stand up for himself, but he's _always _protected those close to him. He must care for you more than you know if he's going to go through with this for you."

"He'll be fine," his mother assured her. "I'm not a big Duel Monsters fan, but I know it's something he enjoys, and while he's not the best back home, he's pretty good. And from all the letters I've seen, it seems he's fast becoming one of the best."

"Kokuro," she whispered. 'Please be careful and…and thank you.'

Kokuro shuffled his deck, and slid it into the Duel Disk which unfolded. "I won't ever forgive you, not for what you've done to Sonomi. She has so much potential, yet you make her feel worthless; like she's not going to amount to anything. I may not know everything you've ever done, but I know enough. It ends today."

"You're right, you know nothing of our family," Mr. Hinote retorted. "I treat my family like I treat my business, and if you think Sonomi has gotten any relief for being a girl, you're wrong. She's our only child, and she has had her moments. However defeat is unacceptable in our family, and once this is over, she will be punished for her utter dishonor. I've always looked at her with pride whenever she's beaten worthy opponents, but she's lost my respect. She's obviously not who she once was, and it's apparent that you're the cause of it all."

They each pulled a hand of five, "You're right, she's not who she once was, she's better. But you're also wrong," Kokuro said glaring at him. "You're the cause of it all. She's one of my best friends, and even though she's your daughter, I not only know her better, but I've treated her better. There are so many beautiful things about her, things you'll never see. Power is all that's on your mind, I can guarantee right now that the only thing you've ever done right is you helped bring Sonomi into this world. And I'm even a bit surprised by that."

"How dare you question my choice of husbands," Sonomi's mother yelled at him. "He's a strong individual with bright ideas. He's the main reason your card game has the technology it does. He's put one hundred and ten percent into everything he's ever done, and that's what makes me love him."

"I meant no disrespect to you ma'am," Kokuro said looking over at her. He turned to glare at Mr. Hinote, "the disrespect is all towards him."

"You insolent little brat, you will learn your place, I guarantee it," Mr. Hinote said.

A large crowd had begun to form, and in the crowd were all of the friends Kokuro had made during the year. Kazuki, Elda, Yaku, Mia, Ami, Kahou, Fuuten, Setsuna, Katsu, and even Jordan had come. In the back, further away, Professor Hikari and Akuma were watching.

"He stands no chance against him," Professor Hikari snickered. "Mr. Hinote is a Pro League duelist. He's lost maybe once, if that."

"Don't put Kokuro out of the running," Akuma said. "I've dueled him, much like you have. He has infinite potential, whether you choose to see it or not."

"We'll see," Professor Hikari said smirking.

Up in a balcony was a girl in a white dress with blue segments all over it. There were jewels around the collar of her dress, and around the cuffs of the wrists. Her eyes fell upon a Ra Yellow wearing a gold dress. That particular Ra had a monster spirit, a Sasuke Samurai on her shoulder, watching Kokuro and Mr. Hinote from one of the tables.

The girls eyes followed across the balcony, on the other side, to see Ritsuzen getting a sky view of the action. Standing not too far from Ritsuzen was Satoshi and Kouken. Kouken turned her head and looked over at the girl in the dress momentarily. "Seirei," she growled under her breath.

'Sister,' Seirei thought to herself before looking back down at Kokuro. 'This is one turn events that Master Kaiba will not be at all happy about,' Seirei thought looking at Kokuro. 'But I truly believe it was for the better.'

The large group of friends had gathered together while the parents of the friends were starting to join together as well, "Who's that?" some of them asked.

"It's my son," Kokuro's dad said proudly. "He's grown into quite a nice man who fights for his beliefs. I'm sure he'll win."

They started introducing themselves to each other while Katsu walked over to Sonomi, "He's the reason huh?" she asked.

"Who is?" Sonomi asked. "And the reason for what?"

"Your dad…and the reason you wouldn't be my friend all those years ago."

Sonomi turned to Katsu, "I'm so sorry," she said resting her hand on Katsu's shoulder.

"Kick his butt!" Mia called out happily. She then turned to everyone else, "So what's going on?"

"Be careful," Jordan and Ami called out.

"Don't underestimate your opponent," Kahou said.

"We're right here next to you," Yaku said.

"Remember to think through everything," Kazuki reminded.

"And have fun beating him!" Elda cheered.

"Thanks everyone," he said to them smiling.

"A fan club," Mr. Hinote said laughing. "How nice."

Kokuro growled, "I'll begin," he drew his sixth card. He looked over his hand and grinned, 'The odds are already in my favor.' He took a card from his hand and set it on his disk, "I summon Skilled Black Magician!" he announced as the young man in black robes appeared on the field holding a silver staff. (1900/1700) "Now I'm activating Spell Absorption!" Kokuro announced as the spell card appeared on the field. One of the orbs on the magician's robes lit up as he studied the spell. "Two cards under the table and I'll end my turn," Kokuro announced as two cards appeared on the field, one on either side of his Spell Absorption.

'A good opening move,' Kazuki thought.

Mr. Hinote drew his card and Kokuro called out to him, "There's still something I don't understand," he said to him. "Maybe it's because I come from a father who's crazy, a sister who's caring, and a mother who's a great friend as much as she is a mother. What I can't understand though is why you don't love Sonomi."

"How dare you," Mr. Hinote growled at Kokuro. "How dare you assume that!"

His reaction was not at all what Kokuro expected, "Mind explaining how I'm wrong?"

"Of course I love my daughter," he growled. "She's the poster girl of the Hinote Corporation. She's had the best life I could give her, but like I said before, I'm running my family like I run my business, and those that disrespect the family punished severely. Sonomi has it off well because she can't get fired from being my daughter. Everyone needs to understand that subordinates follow the instructions that are given to them by those in charge. And those in charge have to follow the instructions of those in charge of them."

"Family and business are totally different things," Kokuro said to him.

"In our family they are the same. It's how I choose to raise her and its how I'm going to continue to raise her. Besides, I've given her everything she could ever want."

"Except a father I could truly say I love," Sonomi said to him.

"Hate me if you want," Mr. Hinote told her, "One day you'll thank me. If you think life is going to change its laws for you, then you're a fool. I've prepared you for what you'll have to face in life, I've done you the biggest favor in the world. And when I'm done with your, 'friend' here, I'll teach it to him."

"Just try me," Kokuro threatened.

"Gladly," he looked at his hand and smirked. "Prepare yourself boy, you're in the big leagues now. I summon Iron Bench Presser in attack mode," he called out.

"Iron Bench Presser?" Kokuro asked. Suddenly a very muscular man appeared on the field. He was wearing a white shirt and sweats pants, work out bands all over his body. A large bench appeared next to him with an iron bar with two large weights on the ends of it resting on two poles that stuck up from on top of it. (1700/1000)

"Confused?" Mr. Hinote asked, Kokuro simply nodded. "My monsters are from a very special promotional series. The set has long since stopped in production, and very few cards remain from it. I went to great lengths to obtain the main monsters of the set, the Iron Monsters."

"Iron Monsters huh?" Kokuro asked. "Sounds interesting I'll admit."

"They are all monsters that work out to obtain power," Mr. Hinote stated. "Just like regular humans, they all started off small and worked their way to their current standings. Just like in business."

"Do you relate everything to business?" Kokuro asked him.

"If you don't apply the laws of the business world to everything you do, you'll be ill prepared for life," Mr. Hinote explained.

"Can't you ever just relax and have fun?" Kokuro asked, it was then he realized that he often asked Sonomi that very question, the realization almost angered him.

"My recreation is my dueling; but I don't play to have fun. I play to prove my superiority over others. And now I'll continue to show you that I'm superior to you," he said taking a card from his hand. "I set a card under the table and end my turn." The brown backed card appeared while the bench presser sat down and began to work out.

Kokuro drew his card. "This will do," he said looking at it. "I summon Apprentice Magician," he announced as the purple robed girl appeared on the field. (400/800) "Apprentice Magician, use your special ability to give a counter to Skilled Black Magician!" Kokuro announced. Apprentice Magician raised her staff which began to glow. It touched an unlit orb on Skilled Black which began to start glowing. "I hope you're ready," Kokuro said grinning.

'If that face down is what I think it is,' Sonomi thought looking at her father's side of the field, 'Then he's more than ready.'

"Skilled Black Magician, begin to charge for your attack!" he announced. Skilled Black Magician began to gather magic from the air around him and Kokuro smirked. "And now the stage is set," he announced as his face down reversed itself. "Go Magician's Circle!" he announced as a hexagram appeared around the field. "This allows us to search our decks for a Spellcaster with two thousand attack points or less and summon it in face up attack mode."

"I don't have any," Mr. Hinote told him. "All my monsters are Warriors."

"I figured that," Kokuro muttered. He pulled his deck out and glanced through it until he came to Black Magician Girl. He smiled and pulled her from the deck, shuffling the deck he slid it back in. "Now I summon…" Kokuro was cut off by the sound of Seto Kaiba walking up.

"Mr. Hinote, what are you doing dueling?" Kaiba asked innocently. "And you're opponent is…" he turned and saw Kokuro standing on the other side of the dance arena. "Kokuro!" he shouted. He glared as he turned to see Sonomi standing in the sidelines.

"I tried to stop him," Sonomi said getting defensive. "I made my challenge but it was too late, he wanted to duel Kokuro."

Mr. Hinote looked over between Sonomi and Kaiba and smirked, "You were going to have my own daughter try to duel me?" he asked. Then he chuckled, "Apparently you figured out my reasoning for wanting her in Battle City and decided to try to use it against me."

"So you are…" Kaiba gritted his teeth, he didn't want anyone to know what was going on. He turned to Kokuro, "This duel is over," he told him. "I never approved of this."

"Master Kaiba," Kokuro said looking at him, "I don't know what's going on, and right now I don't care. This man insulted Sonomi, and my family, so now I'm going to restore our honor."

"Kokuro…" Kaiba said angrily.

"So you're Seto Kaiba," Kokuro's dad said walking over.

"And who are you?" Kaiba asked irritated.

"I'm Kokuro's father," he said introducing himself. "I'm sure you have policies, but you need to understand this; that man has pushed Kokuro into his fight or flight mode. You know what I'm speaking of correct?"

"Of course," Kaiba said. "The natural instinct where you either fight for your ground, or you run to preserve yourself."

"Kokuro always used to run, until he met his friends and found a reason to fight. Ever since that happened, he's never run, and he never will. I know you have rules here, but it's impossible to stop him now. Should anything happen, I'll take full responsibility."

"You realize that if Kokuro loses, the responsibility will be too heavy for you to bear?" Kaiba asked him.

"I'll take my chances and bet on my son," his dad said firmly.

"Thanks dad," Kokuro said turning to his father and smiling.

"You're welcome," his dad said nodding.

"You're lucky," Kaiba said to Kokuro. "You would have been in big trouble."

"I know," Kokuro nodded. "But like before, I would have done it for my friends, and would have accepted the responsibilities." He turned to look at Mr. Hinote, "I guess my dad has taught me something after all," he said growling.

"He taught you to take responsibility, that's about all he's done," Mr. Hinote retorted.

"Let's just see about that," Kokuro said. "I summon Black Magician Girl!" he announced as the magician girl in sky blue robes appeared on the field. However she didn't wink at Mr. Hinote, rather she looked a little perturbed. (2000/1700) "It would appear that Kuriboh informed everyone about what's going on," Kokuro said. "My magician's are angry now."

"The days of Magicians died out when Yugi Mouto stopped playing," Mr. Hinote folded his arms.

"We'll see about that," Kokuro said. "Skilled Black Magician, attack!" The Magician fired a black surge of magic right towards Mr. Hinote's monster.

"Reverse Trap," Mr. Hinote called out. "Will of Steel." The trap showed a muscular man lifting a heavy weight, even though it was apparent he was rather tired.

'I knew it,' Sonomi thought worriedly.

"This trap costs one thousand points to use." Hi: (7000) "Now, any Iron Monster that would be destroyed this turn is spared, although damage calculation is still applied.

"I'm still attacking!" Kokuro announced as the magic struck the training man. Hi: (6800) "And then I'm attacking with my Black Magician Girl!" Kokuro announced. Black Magician Girl gathered a ball of pink magic which she flung at the man. He took the hit but kept on training. Hi: (6500) "My turn is over," he said.

"Good," Mr. Hinote said drawing his card. "And now my Bench Presser's training pays off." The Bench Presser stood up, he looked stronger now, and his attack points proved it. (2000/1000) "If Iron Bench Presser did not attack on the turn before, his attack power is increased by three hundred points," Mr. Hinote explained.

"That's not cool," Kokuro said growling.

"It's his reward for working hard," Mr. Hinote said grinning. "Now I summon Iron Bicyclist!" he announced. A thin man in biker shorts and a white t-shirt appeared on the field riding a bright red sports bicycle. (1000/1000) "Now, Bench Presser, show his Skilled Black Magician that hard work pays off!" Bench Presser took a weight off the iron bar and began to rush towards Skilled Black Magician.

"Reverse Wall of Revealing Light!" Kokuro announced as a large wall of light began to form on the field. "I pay three thousand Life Points to keep all monsters with three thousand or less attack points from being able to attack," Kokuro explained. Ko: (5000)

"It would be a nuisance," Mr. Hinote said before sliding a card into his disk, "But my Mystical Space Typhoon will clear the way for me." As the spell card appeared, Spell Absorption began to glow increasing Kokuro's Life Points. Ko: (5500) A large gust of electrified wind came through the field. The shining wall began to dissipate allowing Iron Bench Presser to continue on and strike down Skilled Black. Ko: (5400)

"There goes that plan," Kokuro said annoyed.

"Iron Bicyclist, wipe out Apprentice Magician!" Iron Bicyclist began to pedal fast. He zoomed over to Apprentice Magician and knocked her down using a training weight he had attached to his belt. The Apprentice Magician shattered while the Bicyclist returned to Mr. Hinote's side of the field. Ko: (4800)

"Don't let him do that to you!" Ami called out to Kokuro. "Show him that apprentices deserve more respect that that!"

Kokuro nodded to her, smiling, and then turned back to Mr. Hinote, "Since you so foolishly destroyed Apprentice Magician, I can search for another Spellcaster with two stars or less and set it face down on guard," Kokuro announced. He once again pulled out his deck found Old Vindictive Magician, and set it on guard.

"I'll set a card under the table and end my turn," Mr. Hinote announced as a face down card appeared.

"My move," Kokuro called out drawing. 'Perfect, I can knock out a lot of his Life Points doing this.' He took the Old Mage on the field and flipped it, "I reverse Old Vindictive Magician causing its special ability to activate. It can now destroy one of your monsters, so I'll choose your Iron Bench Presser!" he announced.

The Old Magician that appeared on the field, (450/600) gathered energy in his staff and blasted a beam of magic out of his staff. "Reverse Continuous Trap!" Mr. Hinote called out. "Law of Iron!"

"Law of Iron?" Kokuro asked as a card with a poster that read 'Law of Iron' on top and below it were the laws.

"Kokuro's in trouble!" Sonomi called out.

"Law of Iron makes it so that I can pay five hundred Life Points to negate the ability of any effect monster on your side of the field that tries to target an Iron Monster," Mr. Hinote explained smirking. His Life Points decreased Hi: (6300) and his Bench Presser used the weight he was holding to deflect the attack.

"At least it doesn't destroy Old Mage," Kokuro said. "So I can still tribute him." Old Vindictive Magician sat down before he vanished. A magician in a futuristic silver trench coat carrying a thin silver staff appeared on the field. (2400/1000) "I've summoned the card Elda gave me, Cybernetic Magician."

"I'm glad to see he still uses it," Elda said smiling.

The one Ra Yellow female with the Sasuke Samurai got an annoyed look on her face. "_Something wrong Artemis?" _Sasuke asked.

"_He tributed for that magician," _she said in her mind that somehow Sasuke heard.

"_Unfortunately most strong monsters in this game need tributes," _Sasuke said shrugging.

"_Doesn't mean I have to like it," _Artemis thought annoyed.

Meanwhile on the field Kokuro was calling out an attack, "Cybernetic Magician, attack Iron Bench Presser with Magic Cyber Shock!" he called out. Cybernetic Magician created a silver lightning field around his staff which shot out vaporizing the Bench Presser and the equipment that had been there. Hi: (5900) "Now, Black Magician Girl, attack Iron Bicyclist for some real damage!" he called out.

Black Magician Girl rose up and gathered a pink ball of energy in her staff when Mr. Hinote called out, "You activated one of the special abilities of Iron Bicyclist. When he's attacked, he's switched on guard." Iron Bicyclist, whom had been performing bike tricks, slammed on the brakes and shielded himself as he was blasted by the magical attack and blown to pixels. "My Life Points are safe," he grinned.

"So it seems," Kokuro said. "I have to end my turn."

"Excellent," Mr. Hinote said drawing his card. "I activate Pot of Greed for two more cards." He drew twice as a green pot appeared on the field before shattering. Ko: (5300) "I activate the Quick Play Spell, Morning Training!" The picture on the card that appeared showed a runner running around a track with the sun rising on the horizon. "This allows me to Special Summon one monster of level four or lower that has Iron in its name. So I'll bring out Iron Jump Roper," he announced as a firm toned man appeared on the field with a jump rope and began jump roping. (500/300)

"Look out Kokuro!" Sonomi called out. "I know this move!"

"He's not much of a threat," Kokuro noted.

"He's also not alone," Mr. Hinote said grinning. Two more Jump Ropers appeared next to the Jump Roper that was already on the field, but they were kneeling and preparing themselves. (500/300 x2) "You look lost so let me explain," Mr. Hinote grinned. "When Jump Roper is special summoned from the hand, I can special summon all others from my hand or deck." He began shuffling his deck and reinserted it into his disk.

"Well, that explains that portion of it," Kokuro nodded.

"Now then, I'll sacrifice the one I summoned using Morning Training," the Jump Roper did one quick trick before he vanished and was replaced by a horizontal card. "For one monster on guard."

"Who wants to bet it's either a Labyrinth Wall or Sennen Shield?" Jordan joked. Everyone looked at him glaring, "Well I thought it was funny," he muttered.

'For some reason, watching _him _tribute makes tributing seem even worse than normal,' Artemis thought.

"_Maybe it's his sparkling personality," _Sasuke suggested. Artemis looked at him glaring. _'Well I thought it was funny,' _Sasuke thought to himself.

"That ends my turn," Mr. Hinote smirked.

Kokuro didn't respond as he drew his card and looked down at it. 'Cost Down will be used later,' he said adding it to his hand. 'That face down monster, there must be a reason he played it face down…but why?'

"If you're not going to do something, I'll begin my turn," Mr. Hinote said going for his deck.

"I'm thinking," Kokuro said annoyed. 'I suppose I won't find out what it is unless I attack it…' He looked over at Cybernetic Magician, 'If it's a monster with a strong defense, Cybernetic Magician is my best bet.' "Cybernetic Magician, attack the face down monster!" he called out. Cybernetic Magician shot another silver lightning bolt. What appeared was a man that looked much like the Iron Bench Presser, however he didn't have a bench just the iron bar, and it was holding more weights than the Bench Presser. (0/0) "He has no Attack or Defense Points," Kokuro noted.

"Just watch," Mr. Hinote smirked. The man lifted the bar and used it block the attack. "Iron Lifter can't be destroyed through battle, or by a card effect," Mr. Hinote said smirking.

"And that's not even the worst of it!" Sonomi called out.

"Not another word!" her father said glaring. "Or you both can join me after Parent's Night." Sonomi took a step back and Mr. Hinote grinned, "Actually…that's not a bad idea," he said. "Sonomi still needs to be punished for losing twice, so not only will you be recalled from Duelist Academy, but I'll take her with us."

"That defeats the purpose of having her here then," Kokuro said glaring.

"I don't think so," he said grinning. "I'll let her re-join again, and you'll end up doing whatever you want, but she'll be under stricter supervision."

"I've already been through all the trainings!" Sonomi shouted. "Why make me go through it again!"

"Because you obviously didn't learn anything the first time around, perhaps another dose of it will make you fear the punishment and make you behave. Fear is a great motivator in business. You fear your bosses power so you make sure you don't screw up."

"Everyone loses occasionally," Kokuro said glaring. "It's just how the world works."

"Once is pushing it," Mr. Hinote said sternly. "Twice is inexcusable."

Sonomi began shaking slightly, she knew the training her father was talking about, and it wasn't pleasant. 'I don't want to have to go through that again.' Her legs started to feel week and she dropped to her knees to support herself. Kokuro's parents helped stabilize her while Kokuro looked over at her, Mr. Hinote soon following his gaze.

"I do it because I love you," Mr. Hinote said. Then he turned to Kokuro, "But for you I'll simply be putting you in your place."

"Funny thing about that," Kokuro responded looking over at him, "I don't usually do too well with stuff like that, especially with everything else I've gone through. You got to Sonomi when she was little, but I'm older, and I won't break so easily."

"You will…" Sonomi said under her breath.

Kokuro glanced over at her and growled before turning to the duel, "Black Magician Girl, attack one of those Jump Ropers! Burning Magic Attack!" he called out. The Black Magician Girl shot a regular beam of magic out at the Jump Roper that was destroyed immediately. "My turn is over."

Mr. Hinote drew and smirked. He watched as his Iron Lifter began to lift the bar up and down, as he did so, his attack power rose. (1000/0) "Iron Lifter gains one thousand attack points during each of my standby phases."

"He's indestructible and he gets stronger," Kokuro said incredulously. "There must be a down fall."

"There is," Mr. Hinote said. "At the end phase of the turn he has four thousand or more Attack Points, he's destroyed. But since I can't do anything else this turn, I'll end."

"Good," Kokuro said drawing. "I activate Cost Down," he announced. "I discard the other Old Vindictive Magician in my hand and now without a sacrifice I summon Chaos Command Magician!" The green robed magician with the long green staff with the ruby on top appeared on the field looking over at Mr. Hinote scowling. (2400/1900) "Chaos Command Magician, wipe out the last Jump Roper!" he announced. Chaos Command Magician shot a red beam of magic at the Jump Roper destroying him. "I end my turn."

Mr. Hinote drew his card and smirked, "You know, by this point, I could just destroy your Black Magician Girl and not have to worry about a side effect but why do that when I can damage your Life Points as well?" he asked. Iron Lifter: (2000/0) "I equip the card, Extra Weight 50 Lb. to Iron Lifter," He said as a twenty five weight appeared on each side of the bar. Iron Lifter: (2300/0) Ko: (6300) "This card increases the attack points of a monster with Iron in its name by three hundred points. Now I switch Iron Lifter to attack mode."

Kokuro looked over at his Black Magician Girl who looked at him, "Thanks," he said nodding at her. She smiled and looked back.

"Attack Black Magician Girl!" he called out. The Lifter ran forward and swung his weight around destroying Black Magician Girl. Ko: (6000) "My turn is over," he said grinning.

Kokuro drew his card and looked at it, "One under the table," he announced as a face down appeared. 'I need to get as many shots at his Life Points as I can…' Kokuro thought sadly looking at his other two magicians. "Sorry guys," he said. They turned and nodded at him in understanding. "Chaos Command Magician, Cybernetic Magician, attack Iron Lifter!" The two magicians crossed their staffs and shot a joined blast of magic at the Lifter who stopped training to deflect the blast. Hi: (5700) "I end my turn."

"Not much else you can do is there?" he asked mockingly as he drew. "I'll give you this much, you've lasted longer than I would have thought you would. But now I'm going to make this much harder." Iron Lifter: (3300/0) "I summon Iron Bench Presser again," he announced as the Bench Presser and the bench reappeared on the field. (1700/1000) He was laying on it and training, but there was extra weight than before. "What I didn't bother to mention last time he was around was that while there is a card with Extra Weight in its name, he gains five hundred attack points. Iron Bench Presser: (2200/1000)

"Ok, I really don't like him," Kokuro said annoyed.

"I'm pretty sure he doesn't like you either," Mr. Hinote said smirking. "Iron Lifter, attack Cybernetic Magician!" he announced. The Lifter swung its large weight around and destroyed the futuristic mage. Ko: (5100)

"I activate Solemn Wishes!" Kokuro announced as his trap reversed.

"I end my turn," Mr. Hinote grinned.

Kokuro's hand was shaking slightly as he drew, Ko: (5600) 'I can't risk another attack with that Iron Lifter…' he thought to himself. 'I'm losing more life than he is.' He switched the position of Chaos Command Magician on his disk, "I'm switching Chaos Command Magician on guard and I'm also setting another, also on guard." Chaos Command Magician bent down while a horizontal brown backed card appeared on the field. "I end my turn," Kokuro said.

Mr. Hinote drew his card and couldn't hold back the smirk, 'Excellent, it arrived just in time…' he thought looking at it. "First off, Iron Lifter gains his one thousand points, also, because I didn't attack with him last round, Iron Bench Presser gains three hundred points." Iron Lifter: (4300/0) Iron Bench Presser: (2500/1000)

"I really don't like him," Kokuro said annoyed.

"Now, I activate Premature Burial," Mr. Hinote said as the card appeared on the field. Hi: (4900)/Ko: (6100) "I use this to bring back Iron Bicyclist," he announced as his biker appeared on the field again. (1000/1000) "Now, Bench Presser, destroy Chaos Command Magician!" Bench Presser stood up and flung a weight at Chaos Command Magician destroying him. He went back to get the weight while the next attack was ordered, "Iron Lifter, destroy the face down monster!" A yellow robed woman with green hair holding a large golden harp appeared on the field (800/2000) and was destroyed instantly.

'That's my last defense,' Kokuro growled.

"Iron Bicyclist, attack the player!" Mr. Hinote called out. The biker rode forward and hit Kokuro with his bike sending Kokuro to the ground. Ko: (5100) "Attack again!" he called out. Kokuro wasn't prepared for the biker to turn around and knock him down onto his chest riding back to Mr. Hinote's side of the field. Ko: (4100) "Aside from switching on guard when attacked, he can also attack twice in a battle phase," Mr. Hinote grinned.

"That's not very nice of him," Kokuro said getting up.

"Well it's almost done," Mr. Hinote smirked. "However, I have to complete your defeat, since Iron Lifter would be destroyed anyway, I'm going to sacrifice it and Iron Bicyclist to summon a new monster!" he called out. The monster that appeared when the two vanished was a very muscular man in a red coach shirt, blue sweat pants, a cap, and a whistle around his neck. (2600/2300) "I've summoned Iron Coach!" he announced as a large aura seemed to emit from it. The loss of the Extra Weight card caused Iron Bench Presser to lose attack points. Iron Bench Presser: (2000/1000) "And finally…I activate the Field Spell Iron Gym!" Ko: (4600)

The entire room around them transformed into a giant gymnasium with exercise equipment and blue floor mats all around it, there were even balance beams farther in the back.

"Kokuro!" Sonomi called out.

"Not another word," her father hissed at her.

Sonomi shrunk back, 'This is bad, with both Iron Coach and Iron Gym on the field, Kokuro won't win.' She started shaking, a tear falling from her eyes.

Kokuro looked over at her and turned growling at her father. 'I _will _stop him.'

To be continued…

Original Cards:

Iron Bench Presser: 4 1700/1000 Earth, Warrior. This monster gains an additional 500 ATK for each card on the field with "Extra Weight" in its name. If this card doesn't attack during a battle phase, increase its ATK by 300 during your next Main Phase 1.

Will of Steel: Trap. At the cost of 1000 Life Points a monster with Iron in it's name is not destroyed as a result of battle for the remainder of this turn. Damage Calculation applied normally.

Law of Iron: Continuous Trap. If an effect monster on your opponent's side of the field tries to target a monster with Iron on your side of the field, pay 500 Life Points to negate that ability.

Iron Jump Roper: 2 500/300 Earth, Warrior. If this card is special summoned from your hand, special summon all "Iron Jump Roper"(s) from your hand and deck.

Iron Lifter: 5 0/0 Earth, Warrior. This monster can't be destroyed as a result of battle, or by a card effect. Increase this cards ATK by 1000 points during your Standby Phase. When this card's ATK reaches over 4000, destroy this monster at the End Phase. (Co-created with D4NNY)


	45. Parent's Night! Part Two

Sdrive: Part two, its an all out war! Who will win, Sonomi's father, or Kokuro?

* * *

Kokuro was in a tough spot as he stared down Sonomi's father. The room they were in was a large gymnasium with multiple exercise machines all around them. Kokuro had a little more than half of his Life Points left, with a lot of help from his Spell Absorption, and now his Solemn Wishes was on the field. Mr. Hinote had just summoned a monster called Iron Coach, (2600/2300) and from the looks of things, it didn't seem to be looking good for him.

"With my Iron Coach and Iron Gym on the field, there's absolutely no way you can beat me," Mr. Hinote said laughing sinisterly.

"I refuse to believe that," Kokuro said growling. "I trust my deck, and I trust my friends, they're going to see me through this." Kuriboh appeared on his shoulder, giving him a cry of agreement.

Mia and Sonomi both heard it, but Sonomi was too far out of it to notice. Seto Kaiba was standing next to Kokuro's father, and he looked down to see Sonomi on the ground. 'My plan is ruined…' he thought angrily. 'Hinote's on to me, and even worse, the one chance I had of taking him down is gone thanks to Kokuro. You're the only chance I have now kid, you better not lose.'

'Keep fighting strong,' His father mentally urged.

"My move," Kokuro said drawing his card. Solemn Wishes began to rain down a sparkle of light which raised his Life Points. Ko: (5100) "And my draw gave me Pot of Greed," he announced as he slid the card into his disk and drew twice more which activated not only Solemn Wishes but Spell Absorption as well. Ko: (6100)

"Your Life Point gaining cards are really starting to annoy me," Mr. Hinote said angrily. "Then again, they've stopped you from making a complete fool out of yourself."

"I'm glad you think so fondly of me," Kokuro said sarcastically. He looked down at the two cards he had drawn. 'Perfect,' he grinned. Looking up he said, "I remove Apprentice Magician and Spirit of the Harp from play!" he announced as the two spirits of the creatures of Darkness and Light appeared and combined together into one purple skinned magician with flowing black robes. (2300/2000) "I've summoned Chaos Sorcerer!" Kokuro announced.

"Alright!" Mia called out. "Now Kokuro has a chance for a comeback!"

"No he doesn't," Sonomi said sadly.

Kokuro took the second card from Pot of Greed and slid it into his Duel Disk, "I activate Mage Power!" he announced as a golden light began to envelope Chaos Sorcerer, raising its Attack and Defense power. Chaos Sorcerer: (3800/3500) Ko: (6600) He looked over at the Iron Coach, 'That thing could have any kind of Special Ability, I better play it safe.' He looked over at Chaos Sorcerer, "I activate Chaos Sorcerers ability!" he announced. "Now, remove Iron Coach from the game."

The sorcerer began to cast a spell and a purple bubble began to envelope the Iron Coach. Mr. Hinote simply laughed as his Life Points decreased. Hi: (4400) "Have you forgotten entirely about my Law of Iron trap?" he asked. Iron Coach blew his whistle creating a loud sound wave which shattered the bubble that had appeared around him. "By paying five hundred Life Points I've negated the ability of your monster that tried to target mine."

Kokuro growled angrily, 'I'll be honest…I did forget.' He stared angrily before finally saying, "I end my turn."

"As well you should," Mr. Hinote said drawing. "And now the ability of my Iron Gym has taken effect," he said grinning. "During that whole period, my monsters have been working out to make themselves stronger, in game terms, during each of my standby phases each monster with Iron in its name gains three hundred points. Iron Coach: (2900/2300) Iron Bench Presser: (2300/1000)

"Each standby phase," Kokuro said nervously. "That means each turn they get stronger."

"That's right, and that's not even its most deadly ability," he smirked.

"It has another?" Kokuro asked worriedly.

"Yes, but I'll get to that when the time comes, for now however, I'll simply end my turn."

Kokuro gave a sigh of relief and drew his card, 'Shadow Spell,' he thought looking at it. He then looked over at Chaos Sorcerer. Ko: (7100) 'If my attack backfires, it'll be good to have this, so I won't set it just yet.' He looked over to Sonomi who still seemed out of it, "Chaos Sorcerer, attack Iron Coach!" he announced.

"But…" Mia said looking at Iron Coach.

"Why didn't he switch his monster on guard?" Kahou completed Mia's thought.

"I activate the special ability of Iron Coach!" Mr. Hinote said grinning. "Once during your battle phase, if you attack an Iron monster, I can raise that monsters attack power by one thousand during damage calculation only."

"No!" Kokuro said astonished as Iron Coach's attack power rose. Iron Coach: (3900/2300)

Chaos Sorcerer shot a beam of magic at Iron Coach which jumped up dodging the attack and blowing a sound wave at the spellcaster using its whistle. The sound wave destroyed Chaos Sorcerer and took a small chunk out of Kokuro's Life Points. Ko: (7000) 'Had I just set Shadow Spell Chaos Sorcerer would have been stronger,' Kokuro thought angry at himself.

"Now the secondary ability of Iron Gym activates," Mr. Hinote said chuckling. "When an Iron Monster destroys a monster as a result of battle, your monster is equipped to the monster that destroyed it and it gains two hundred attack points for every level your monster was."

"But that's…" Kokuro said in awe as the hat and cape of Chaos Sorcerer appeared on Iron Coach. (5100/2300) Its attack power lowered by one thousand since Damage Calculation was over. (4100/2300)

"What are you going to do now?" Mr. Hinote taunted.

Kokuro glared at him, "I set a card under the table and end my turn," he announced as the card appeared face down.

'That move cost Kokuro his strongest monster,' Kaiba thought as he narrowed his eyes at Kokuro. 'And it gave Hinote a huge advantage. Had he just noticed Hinote hadn't switched his monsters modes he would have been fine. Now he's wide open, with only one card to protect him…if it can.'

"My move," Mr. Hinote said drawing before showing it to Kokuro. It was another Extra Weight card, but this one was labeled Extra Weight 150 Lb. "I can only draw this card through a secondary effect of Extra Weight 100 Lb." he explained. "So I have to reshuffle it and draw again," he said as he reshuffled the card into his deck and redrew. "And now, Iron Gym activates."

All the monsters began training once more, increasing all their attack points. Iron Coach: (4400/2300) Iron Bench Presser: (2600/1000) And then Iron Bench Presser got stronger for not attacking the turn previously. (2900/1000)

"It's not looking good for you, is it?" Mr. Hinote asked.

"I'll find a way out," Kokuro assured.

"Then let's see you do so," Mr. Hinote grinned as he placed a card on his Disk, "I summon Iron Track Runner," he announced as a man in shorts, a grey shirt, and sweat bands on appeared on the field. (1000/1000)

"He's lost!" Elda gasped. "He won't survive this round!"

"I knew it…" Sonomi said, another tear falling from her eyes.

"Iron Coach, attack the player!" Mr. Hinote yelled.

"Reverse Shadow Spell!" Kokuro announced as black chains erupted from the trap that had reversed itself and suppressed the huge man tightly and with a magical seal. Iron Coach: (3700/2300) "I've not only stopped his attack, I've weakened him also," Kokuro said, though he wasn't grinning like normal whenever he did this.

'He's not enjoying this duel,' Kazuki thought from the sidelines. 'Then again, he's fighting against the man that made Sonomi so uptight. I can't say I blame him.'

"You stopped one attack," Mr. Hinote grinned. "Now try this one! Iron Bench Presser, attack the player!" Iron Bench Presser swung its giant iron bar around which slammed into Kokuro knocking him hard on his back. Ko: (4100)

"Kokuro!" Ami and Katsu called out worriedly.

'That looked like it hurt,' Artemis thought looking at Kokuro trying to recover.

"_Now you know what us monsters feel like," _Sasuke replied grimacing.

Kokuro slowly stood up as Mr. Hinote called out, "And now, Iron Track Runner, attack him as well!" Iron Track Runner vanished and appeared behind Kokuro suddenly kicking in the back sending him onto his knees. Iron Track Runner returned to Mr. Hinote's side of the field, jogging in place. Iron Track Runner: (2000/1000)

"What the?" Ami asked curiously. "How'd that happen?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Katsu said equally confused.

"When my Iron Track Runner damages a players Life Points, his own attack score increases by the damage he caused. So since he caused one thousand points of damage to you, his attack score rose by one thousand."

"Makes sense," Kokuro muttered. He stood up, his legs weak. 'That attack really hurt,' he thought. 'Then again, I got hit by a giant iron bar with huge weights attached to it; that might have had something to do with it.'

"I end my turn," Mr. Hinote said grinning as his Iron Monsters once again went back to training and working out. The Track Runner hopped onto a treadmill and began running at a fast pace.

"Alright," Kokuro said steadying himself as he drew his card. Ko: (3600) "I set one card under the table and end my turn," he announced as the card appeared face down on his side of the field.

"Then it's my turn once again," Mr. Hinote said drawing. "And now Iron Gym activates." Iron Coach: (3900/2300) Iron Bench Presser: (3200/1000) Iron Track Runner: (2300/1000) "Now, I activate Extra Weight 50 Lb." he said as the card appeared on the field. "And I think I'll give it to Iron Track Runner," he said as leg weights appeared on the runners feet. Iron Track Runner: (2600/1000) More weights appeared on Bench Pressers Iron Bar and he lifted it a couple of times. (3700/1000) Ko: (4100) "Now then, Iron Track Runner, direct attack!" Track Runner jumped off the treadmill and vanished.

"Reverse Sleepy Sheep!" Kokuro called out as four multicolored sheep tokens appeared on the field. Ko: (4600) One of the sheep exploded as Track Runner was pushed back, not expecting to run into one.

"A wall of sheep aren't going to stop me," Mr. Hinote scowled. "However, I'm just going to allow Bench Presser to resume training, so I'm ending here." Bench Presser immediately began pumping iron again while the others continued on with various activities.

'He's strengthening his forces,' Kokuro thought drawing his card as sparkles fell on him. Ko: (5100) "I activate Graceful Charity," he announced as an angel appeared on the field and graced his deck allowing him to draw three more times. He drew three times and the sparkles and Spell Absorption granted him Life Points. Ko: (6100) He discarded his Sorcerer of Black Magic and his Black Magician Knight to the graveyard. "I have to end my turn," he announced.

"Excellent," Mr. Hinote said drawing. "First up, Iron Gym." Iron Coach: (4200/2300) Iron Bench Presser: (4000/1000 – 4300/1000) Iron Track Runner: (2900/1000)

"As you might have guessed, Bench Presser gained another three hundred for not attacking last turn. Now I summon Iron Bicyclist!" he announced as the biker reappeared on the field. The Biker and the Track Runner looked at each other and exchanged glares.

"What's with those two?" Katsu asked.

"They're rivals," Mr. Hinote said. "But that's of no concern now."

"He's right," Sonomi said standing slowly.

Everyone turned their attention to her, "Are you alright?" Kokuro's mother asked.

"I'll be fine for now," she said slowly. "But Kokuro's going to end up taking another direct attack from Bench Presser," she said.

"How do you know?" Katsu asked going over to her.

"Remember? Bicyclists ability to attack twice?" she said.

"That's right!" Yaku, Jordan, and Fuuten gasped.

"Poor Kokuro," Setsuna said.

"_You're friend's finished, hate to say it," _Sasuke said to Artemis.

'I know you're stronger than this,' Artemis thought glaring at Kokuro. 'Show this psycho who he's messing with.'

"_Artemis, get with the picture, the kid's lost…"_

"Maybe he won't be able to pull through," his mom said. "He's obviously gotten stronger, but it sure does look hopeless for him."

"I believe in him," his dad said. "He can do anything he puts his mind too."

Mia looked over at Kokuro who turned from looking at Sonomi to look at her, and then their eyes joined with Kokuro's dad's. They all nodded at each other, it was obvious they were the only ones left that thought Kokuro could win.

Mia finally spoke up, "I've doubted Kokuro before, and granted, I've watched him lose before, he's even lost to me, but when he's fighting for something important to him, he's always found a way to win. That's why, I won't listen to any of you who think he won't win. I'm going to believe in him until the end." She turned to look at Sonomi, "And you should too. He's fighting this battle more for you than for himself. It's obvious he cares a lot for you, all joking aside."

Sonomi looked from Mia, to Kokuro, 'I know that Mia,' she thought worriedly. 'It's not that I don't know that, I just don't think he can win. Dad still hasn't played his strongest monster yet, not that he needs it. But he still has it, and if he can summon it, its game over for sure. I want Kokuro to win, but he just can't beat my father.'

Sonomi's dad looked over at her and grinned before turning to Kokuro, "It's apparent my girl's lost hope for you," he said. "And who could blame her? She knows what's coming to you and her when you lose. I'll admit, this is the longest duel I've ever fought, but it doesn't mean you have what it takes to defeat me."

"You're right," Kokuro said surprising everyone. "It's pointless to fight you if Sonomi doesn't have trust in me. I can't possibly beat her worst fear if her spirit isn't here fighting right next to mine. I should just give up right now," he started to place his hand over his deck, which was resting on his Duel Disk.

Everyone watched in horror, not knowing if he was going to surrender or not. Kokuro looked over to Sonomi, who had once again lost the power to stand. She looked up, desperation in her eyes, "win…" she muttered, so low that almost no one could hear.

"What?" he asked.

"Win…" she repeated, a tad louder. "I…I want you to win!" she yelled. "Do whatever it takes just beat him!"

Kokuro smiled at her and moved his hand away from his deck, much to everyone's relief. "You see that?" he asked looking over at Sonomi's father, still smiling, "She has faith. She wouldn't have found the power to urge me on if she didn't think it was possible."

"I thought I told you," he said angrily, "In the real world, you only have yourself to depend on, no one else."

"You're wrong," Kokuro snapped back at him, causing Mr. Hinote to flinch. Kokuro clenched his fists, "I'm never alone. I always have the support of Sonomi and Mia, we share a special friendship that _won't_ be broken. It's faced some rough roads before, but in the end we always find ourselves coming back to each other. We'll always support each other, and we'll never doubt each other. That's a friendship you'll _never _understand."

Everyone around him cheered as Mr. Hinote growled angrily, "I don't need to understand it as long as I can break it!" he shouted. "Iron Bicyclist, attack two of his sheep!" he called out. The biker ran into one of the sheep destroying it before doing a U-turn and striking down the other. "Now Iron Track Runner, attack the last sheep!" he announced as the runner vanished and kicked the sheep at high speeds shattering it. "Finally, Bench Presser, attack the player!" he yelled. Bench Presser ran forward and swung his iron bar into Kokuro. He was knocked onto his knees once again as his Life Points lowered. Ko: (1800) "End turn," Mr. Hinote growled.

Kokuro's body was exhausted, he wasn't used to direct attacks that strong. He could have collapsed, but he felt the presence of the three Kuriboh's holding him up. He smiled, and they helped push him up. "Thank you," he whispered to them.

"He looks like he's in pretty bad shape," Kazuki noted.

"Hang in there," Ami called out.

"And never give up," Mia cheered.

"You don't have to worry about that," Kokuro said. He drew his card and looked down at it, 'This completes what I need,' he thought looking at it. Ko: (2300) "I activate Premature Burial," he announced taking another card from his hand. Ko: (1500) Spell Absorption activated and granted Kokuro five hundred more life points. Ko: (2000) "Now I bring back Black Magician Girl!" he announced as the female magician once again appeared on the field. (2000/1700)

"She can't help you," Mr. Hinote scowled.

"Actually, she's exactly who I needed," Kokuro smirked. "Now I activate Sage's Stone!" he announced a shining jewel appeared on the field and began to glow even brighter. Ko: (2500) "Since Black Magician Girl is on the field, I can now special summon Black Magician!" Kokuro announced. The light faded and the purple robed magician stood in front of Kokuro, his staff between his arms. (2500/2100)

"So you really do posses that card," Mr. Hinote growled. "I really didn't think you owned it."

"Well I do, and I have a great spell card to go with it," he announced as he slid a card into his disk. "Go, Black Magic Attack!" he called out. Ko: (3000) The Black Magician powered up his staff and released a blast of magic that devastated the entire arena around them. The Gymnasium crumbled, returning them to the original arena. The Law of Iron card was blasted away as was the Extra Weight and the face down card. Finally, the robe and hat on Iron Coach was blasted away.

"No!" Mr. Hinote shouted, angered at the loss of his field advantage. Iron Coach: (3000/2300) Iron Bench Presser: (3500/1000) Iron Track Runner: (2300/1000)

"If you think I'm done, you're sadly mistaken," Kokuro said looking over at him. "You see, I still remember your Iron Coach's ability, so I'm going to get rid of it once and for all."

"I'd like to see you try," Mr. Hinote said. "None of your monsters can beat it, even without its ability."

"That's where you're wrong," Kokuro said narrowing his eyes. "For now I activate, Knight's Title!" Ko: (3500) The card appeared on the field and a large shield appeared on the field. It glowed with light and the light enveloped the Black Magician. When the light died down, Black Magician stood there in purple armor, and holding a large glowing sword. "I've summoned Black Magician Knight," Kokuro announced. (2500/2100) "And now for his special ability; when he's summoned he can automatically destroy one card on your side of the field, and I choose your Iron Coach!"

"You can't!" Mr. Hinote growled as the Knight raised its sword and a surge of lightning shot out of it striking down the Iron Coach, shattering him.

"Without your Law of Iron, you were powerless to stop it," Kokuro grinned. "And let's not forget Black Magician Girl," he said. The spirit of Black Magician appeared behind her and her attack power rose. (2300/1700)

"I'm truly impressed," Kokuro's father said nodding approvingly.

"Kokuro is a great duelist," Kazuki said also nodding. "And he's gotten better since he got here. Then again, my performance wouldn't be anything less than impressive if I were fighting for someone I cared about."

"Now, Black Magician Knight," Kokuro said looking at him, "Destroy Iron Track Runner!" Black Magician Knight leaped up and brought his sword down on the Track Runner destroying him instantly. Hi: (4200) "Now, Black Magician Girl, wipe out his Iron Bicyclist," Kokuro commanded.

Black Magician Girl gathered up energy as Mr. Hinote called out, "I switch Iron Bicyclist on guard using its ability." The Bicyclist braked and protected himself as the pink ball of energy blasted him to pieces.

"My turn is over," Kokuro announced.

"You fool," Mr. Hinote said drawing. "Have you completely forgotten that I still have Iron Bench Presser?"

"I didn't forget," Kokuro said. "But I did what needed to be done."

"Well your Black Magician Girl is once again going to pay the price!" he yelled. "Attack her!" Bench Presser through his iron bar at her knocking her to the ground before she shattered. Ko: (2300) "Your Black Magician Knight will be next," he growled.

Kokuro drew his card, preparing to switch his knight on guard, then what he drew made him smile. Ko: (2800) "You only wish that was what was going to happen," he grinned. "But in reality, your Iron Bench Presser is next."

"How?" he asked.

"With Riryoku!" Kokuro called out.

"Way to go!" Mia and Ami called out together as Katsu and Jordan high fived each other. Ko: (3300) Black Magician Knight: (4350/2100) Iron Bench Presser: (1750/1000)

"Black Magician Knight, put an end to his Iron Bench Presser!" Kokuro commanded. Black Magician Knight gladly leaped up and slashed his sword twice across the bench presser, destroying him and the bench that was on the field with him. The shockwaves went on to strike Mr. Hinote. Hi: (1700)

"Impossible!" Mr. Hinote yelled.

'He…he may just win,' Sonomi thought standing slightly, hope rising in her.

'I must admit Kokuro, you've fought well,' Kaiba thought.

"I end my turn," Kokuro announced as his Black Magician Knight's attack power returned to normal. (2500/2100)

"I…Draw," Mr. Hinote said very angry. He looked down, to see that he had drawn another Iron Lifter. 'There's…nothing I can do…' he thought shocked.

"Well?" Kokuro asked.

"I…I'm forced to end my turn," he growled.

Everyone began cheering as Kokuro reached to draw his card. As he drew, three duelists in the room heard the sound of the very card that kept their friendship alive. Ko: (3800) "I summon Kuriboh!" Kokuro announced smiling as the small brown creature with the green feet and claws appeared on the field. (300/200) "Sure, this is adding insult to injury, but it's worth it to show you that Kuriboh's aren't weak."

"It's Kuriboh," Sonomi said smiling.

Mia looked over at Sonomi and smiled. "Do it!" she yelled back to Kokuro.

"Kuriboh…direct attack!" he called out. Kuriboh jumped up onto Mr. Hinote and exploded causing his Life Points to drop slightly. Hi: (1400) "Black Magician Knight…finish it!" he said. Black Magician Knight leaped up and landed right in front of Mr. Hinote. Sword met body and Mr. Hinote was flung backwards as his Life Points were depleted. Hi: (0)

The holograms vanished and everyone in the room began cheering loudly for Kokuro's victory. He began clearing his cards and just as his Duel Disk finished folding up, Sonomi ran up and wrapped her arms around him. "You did it!" she shouted.

"Yeah," Kokuro said chuckling a little, "I guess I did."

"I'm sorry," she said with tears running down her face. "You really are a true friend. I'm sorry for ever hating you and not trusting you."

"I'm just glad I could help you," Kokuro said smiling, wrapping his arms around her.

As he said that, Sonomi's father walked up to the two of them, and their defenses immediately rose. Sonomi glared at her father, "And what do you want?" she growled.

Mr. Hinote looked between the two of them, and in a low voice said, "I am a man, and as a man, I need to accept this defeat, and honor our deal."

"Do you really mean that?" Sonomi asked, a little shocked.

"While defeat is inexcusable, one must also recognize when they themselves have been faced with it, and deal with it appropriately. Sonomi, you're free to make your own choices from now on. You will no longer be in my shadow."

Sonomi looked up at him, and nodded, "It's about time you realized that."

He then turned to Kokuro, "And I admit that you really are a talented duelist. But should we ever duel again, you're luck will not see you to victory. You better not lose again." He turned to walk away but was stopped when Seto Kaiba blocked his path.

"Leaving so soon?" Kaiba taunted.

"You're going to air that duel, aren't you?" Mr. Hinote growled.

"You had better believe it," Kaiba smirked.

"You may ruin me for now, but I'll get back on my feet, guaranteed." He walked around Kaiba and Sonomi's mother took his arm and they walked off.

Everyone watched them leave and then all of Kokuro's friends came into the arena to congratulate him. "Way to go!" Mia said smiling and giving her peace sign.

"That's the kind of duel that inspired me in the first place," Ami smiled.

"That was totally kick butt!" Jordan grinned. "Now if only I could duel like that."

"That was a duel that will be remembered for all time," Kahou laughed.

"It was quite impressive," Kazuki agreed.

"What's better he used the card I gave him," Elda said nudging Kazuki.

"That was so cool the way you used Kuriboh at the very end!" Fuuten said excitedly.

"Congratulations," Setsuna said simply.

"_Looks like the kid did it," Sasuke said impressed. _Artemis just sat there, a small smile formed at the side of her mouth.

Kokuro smiled at everyone and then looked over at Sonomi, "Why don't you go with Mia, freshen up, and we can have dinner?"

"That's a good idea," Sonomi nodded. Her and Mia left, while everyone's parents came up to him.

First a woman with long red hair and a man with soft, light green hair walked up to them. The woman seemed to have a look of approval while the man seemed rather tired. "Hey mom, dad," Fuuten said waving. "Kokuro, this is my mother, Dokara, and my father, Ricenmei."

"It's nice to meet you," Dokara said shaking Kokuro's hand. "I must say, you really did well beating him."

"Thanks," Kokuro said looking at her oddly, "You seem so familiar."

Dokara simply gave him a grin, "I felt that about you too," she said. "Who knows, maybe in another life we were partners."

"And you and I were brother and sister rather than mother and son," Fuuten laughed.

"Uh huh," Dokara said annoyed. "Do you constantly have to say that?"

"Of course," Fuuten said grinning.

'They do act like it,' Kokuro thought sweat dropping slightly.

Another man and woman stepped over to Kokuro. The man had short black hair while the woman had long blonde hair. They smiled at him and nodded, "So you're the kid Kahou keeps telling us about," the man said.

"You dueled quite impressively," the woman agreed.

"You must be Kahou's mom and dad," Kokuro said as Kahou leaned in closer to Kokuro.

"That's right," Kahou said proudly. "My parents are both archeologists. They've been on multiple expeditions to many famous places, such as Greece, and Egypt."

"So that's where you get your natural curiosity about studying other people," Kokuro grinned.

"That's right," Kahou laughed. "Studying people and civilizations comes naturally thanks to them."

"Every year the Obelisk Blue students here at the academy get to go on a journey to Egypt to study the origins of Duel Monsters," Mr. Taimu said.

"So you believe those stories about Duel Monsters originating in Egypt then?" Kokuro asked.

"It's true," Mrs. Taimu said. "We've personally seen the tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh."

"The Nameless Pharaoh?" Kokuro asked intrigued.

"Uh oh, we've said too much," Mr. Taimu teased.

"Oh come on," Kokuro pleaded, his attention fully grasped.

"If you want to know about the Nameless Pharaoh, my husband and I are being the guides for the Egypt trip by request of Master Kaiba. When he learned what we did, while he doesn't necessarily promote the trip, he still asked if we would be the guides for the next three years. So perhaps, when you're in Obelisk Blue next year, you can come on the trip and we'll explain it then."

"That's no fun," Kokuro said crossing his arms.

"Oh?" Kahou asked.

"I want to go now!" Kokuro pouted.

Everyone had a good laugh, except for Kokuro who really did want to go that year. "Umm…excuse me," Ami said looking at Kokuro.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I…I didn't want to interrupt, but I'd really like it if you'd meet my parents," she said shyly.

"Of course," Kokuro nodded.

"Oh, wait," Kahou said looking between Kokuro and Ami. "Mom, Dad, this is the 'other' friend I've been mentioning in my letters, Ami."

"So you're Ami," Mrs. Taimu said smiling sweetly. "We've heard a lot about you as well?"

"Really?" Ami asked, blushing a little.

"He told us you're a really kind girl, even if you are a bit shy sometimes," his father said. "And he said he also shares a special bond with you, one he's never had before."

"He told you about it?" Ami gasped.

"Yup," Kahou nodded. "They seemed to understand it, believing in the ancient Shadow Games it's almost guaranteed they'd believe in something like that," he said laughing.

"Believe in what?" Kokuro asked.

"You wouldn't understand," Kahou said grinning.

"Try me," Kokuro grinned himself while he folded his arms.

"It's not that we don't want you to know," Ami assured him. "It's just…really hard to explain, and it's not really easy to believe either."

"I'm not so sure about that," Kokuro said as he heard Kuriboh appear on his shoulder. "Come on, you guys are my friends, give me a try."

"Well," Ami said stuttering. "We…um…well, we kind of see, a Time Wizard."

"Oh really?" Kokuro asked, though he knew exactly what they were talking about.

"You see, we think it's a type of Duel Spirit," Kahou explained. "Duel Spirits…"

"It's not a Duel Spirit," Kokuro said grinning. He was taking it in as his time to shine.

"Wait…how do you know?" Kahou asked incredulously.

"You two said that you're really good friends right?" Kokuro asked.

"Well, yeah," Ami said. "Kahou's my best friend…but so are you!" she added as an afterthought.

"And only you two can see it right?" he asked.

"Apparently," Kahou said nodding. "I don't understand why though. I've met that girl that dueled you during mid-terms, Akuma. Seemingly she can see Duel Spirits, but she can't see the Time Wizard."

"That's because your Time Wizard isn't a Duel Spirit," Kokuro smiled.

"It's not?" they asked together.

"It's a Friendship Spirit."

"What's that?" Ami, Kahou, and Kahou's parents asked simultaneously.

"It's like a Duel Spirit, but it's more of a symbol between two or more who share a really special friendship," he explained. "And its strength in this world depends on the strength of the friendship. It's usually represented by some sort of Duel Monsters, and it's most often represented by one you both have in your decks."

"So, why can we only see it?" Ami asked.

"Because it's your friendship. You two have a very special friendship with one another only. It's so unique that you won't be able to have it with any other person, just you two. That's why, as Yugi said, even someone with the strongest magical powers won't be able to see it."

"How do you know so much about it?" Mr. Taimu asked.

"Because, Sonomi, Mia and I have a special friendship like that," he smiled.

"So…what's your Friendship Spirit?" Mrs. Taimu asked excitedly.

"I'll give you a hint, it's a monster I used to defeat Sonomi's father."

"Apprentice Magician?" Ami asked hopefully.

"Black Magician Girl?" Kahou asked equally as hopefully.

Kokuro simply shook his head while Mr. Taimu thought about it for a moment. "It's Kuriboh isn't it?" he finally said.

Kokuro nodded, "You got it." He looked over at it, "How'd you guess?"

"Kuriboh was the oddball out in your deck, and yet, it just seemed to fit. Especially when you drew it, I saw a smile appear on all three of your faces."

Kokuro nodded, "Yeah."

Just then, a man walked up, he had slick black hair, and looked down at Ami, "Aren't you going to introduce us to Kokuro?" he asked her.

"Sorry, Dad," she said sheepishly. "Um guys, this is my father," she said introducing them. "The one in the yellow tuxedo is Kokuro, and you already met Kahou," she said.

"It's good to finally meet you," the man said shaking Kokuro's hand. "We heard that you're the reason Ami finally started to love dueling for what it was."

"I guess…" Kokuro said rubbing the back of his head.

"Honey, over here," he called out. A woman with long black hair walked over and smiled upon seeing Ami.

"There you are," she smiled. Then she looked over at Kokuro, "And that must be Kokuro."

"That's right," Kokuro nodded.

"It's nice to finally meet you," she smiled.

"My mom is a pharmacist and my dad works as an Advanced Calculus and Trigonometry teacher at Tokyo University," Ami said proudly.

"You obviously don't come from a family of dummies," Kahou laughed. "That's why you're so good with computers."

"Yeah," Ami said blushing slightly. "I don't like to brag…"

"You have every right to," Kahou encouraged her. "You're excellent!"

Ami simply blushed and meekly said, "Thanks."

Sonomi and Mia finally returned, Sonomi was looking much calmer, and the tear streaks were gone from her face, "You ready?" she asked Kokuro.

"Yeah," he nodded. "We're going to go have dinner now with my parent's. It was great to meet you all and I'll hopefully see you all again before the end of the night."

"Alright," everyone said nodding.

Mia went to go find her parents and Yaku leaving Kokuro and Sonomi alone. "Thanks again," Sonomi said looking at him.

"I was honored to do it," Kokuro said taking her arm in his. They walked off to try to find his parents when Sonomi spotted the photographer still taking pictures.

"Let's go get our picture taken first," Sonomi said pulling him over.

"I thought you didn't want your picture taken," Kokuro said skeptically.

"In all honesty…it was because I was still mad at you," she looked over at him. "Then again, I've never liked having my picture taken. Usually only in a group photo am I ok with it."

"We don't have too if you don't want too," Kokuro said.

"I want this picture though," she said. They went over and waited in line until it was their time. Kokuro stood to Sonomi's left and just a bit behind her, his arm was wrapped in hers and they stood there, smiling. The picture was taken, and they signed the order form.

"By the way," Kokuro asked him. "How long are you going to be taking pictures?" he asked.

"All night," he said.

"We should get a giant group photo later tonight," Kokuro suggested.

"That sounds good," she said.

They went on to find Kokuro's parents, and they sat down and began to have dinner with them. After a while, they began talking to Sonomi about her father. "So…has your father always treated you like that?" Mrs. Samé asked.

"He always wanted me to be a good little business girl," Sonomi replied. "And I just wanted a normal life. But I never got one."

"Well, now's your chance to have one," Mr. Samé said smiling.

Sonomi shrugged, "To be honest, he did teach me everything I believe. Hard work, determination, failing's not an option. I don't think I can honestly change myself now."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing," Mr. Samé said.

"It's good to be motivated," Mrs. Samé explained. "But now you don't have to live in fear. You can be motivated for the right reasons."

Sonomi nodded, "It's nice to know I won't have to answer to him the way I was any longer."

"So, has he actually ever hit you before?" Kokuro asked nervously.

"When I was younger, to make me fear it so I wouldn't disobey him," she said. "I don't think he was actually going to hit me though, I think he was going to whip his hand in front of my face to get a reaction out of me. But you got in the way…"

"And I would do it again if I thought he was going to hit you," Kokuro assured her. Just then an announcement was made that the Dj was about to start playing the last song of the night. "I'm sure we really screwed up his schedule," Kokuro said chuckling nervously.

"Why don't you two go ahead and dance?" Mrs. Samé encouraged.

"Us?" they asked simultaneously.

"Why not?" she urged. "You're both on a date, you should enjoy it."

"But this isn't an actual date, date," Kokuro said.

"Oh who cares?" his father said. "You both have every right to enjoy tonight. It was a victory for both of you. Even though it's Parent's Night, tonight is your night."

Kokuro looked at Sonomi who looked at him, "I guess we could," Sonomi shrugged. "I saw Mia and Yaku going out there also, it's not like its real or anything anyway."

"Yeah, I guess," Kokuro said, unsure of himself. They sat up, and Kokuro took her hand and they walked out to the dance arena. "I'll be honest…I'm not really a good dancer."

"What boy is?" Sonomi asked slightly annoyed.

"No, what I mean is…well, I never went to dances in High School because I couldn't get dates."

"I'm not sure why," Sonomi said moving her hand so that hers was on top of his and turning around to face him. "Sure you're kind of obnoxious at times, and there are a few irritating things about you…"

"Gee thanks," Kokuro rolled his eyes.

"You didn't let me finish!" she raised her voice and then lowered it when she saw people were staring. "Anyway, sure you're not perfect, but you're not a bad guy either." She paused for a moment, "Then again, I never had dates in high school either."

"I can't imagine why," Kokuro said grinning. "You've got such a great personality," he said sarcastically.

She pushed him a bit glaring at him, "If you haven't noticed yet, due to my family circumstances I wasn't miss popularity. Granted, I also went to a private high school, one for only rich snobs whom most of I didn't like. And, if it wasn't flaringly obvious, my father didn't exactly let me have any friends…doesn't mean he didn't have me go to dance lessons."

"You took dance lessons?" Kokuro asked.

"Yeah," she sighed. "It was never my thing though." She wrapped his arms around her and then put her arms on his shoulders and they began rocking back and forth, "I enjoyed dancing, but our teacher didn't let us do it for fun."

"That sucks," Kokuro replied, not sure what else to say.

"Dancing iz ze art!" Sonomi said in a high voiced accent. "And muzt be rezpected and acknowledged. Only Zen can you truly underztand ze art of dance!"

"Wow," Kokuro said, "She doesn't sound high strung at all."

"She made me hate dancing lessons," Sonomi said talking normal again. "And seeing as how I never got to dance, I always considered the lessons a waste of time."

Kokuro nodded, understanding. "I could see how that would happen." Then, a thought occurred to him, one he had been wondering for a while now, but never bothered to ask, "So…if you're father owns an entire company…"

Sonomi sighed, "Yes, it means I'm rich."

"Just checking," Kokuro nodded.

"Is being rich a turn on for you?" She asked annoyed.

"Not at all," Kokuro said. "I honestly was just curious because I've never really seen you pull any money out."

"We use DP for most of the things here," Sonomi reminded him.

"True," he replied. "Still, you'd think I would notice if you did, so in all honesty, I just wasn't sure. Is it a big company?"

"It's been partners with KaibaCorp longer than I've been alive," Sonomi replied. "All those little microchips and what not that goes in computers and duel disks and what not, our company makes them."

"You don't say?" he said interested.

Sonomi nodded, "We make the chips, KaibaCorp programs them and assembles the Duel Disks. The Hinote Corporation was in league with KC even before Master Kaiba took over; back when KaibaCorp made and programmed military machinery.

"I never knew that about KaibaCorp," Kokuro said.

"Being the daughter of a father who has been in league with them, you tend to learn that kind of stuff."

"Apparently," Kokuro said chuckling.

They ran out of things to talk about and just continued to slow dance. Sonomi put her head on his shoulder halfway through the last song and they were taken over by the soft music that had been playing. "I'll be honest," she whispered. "I've always wanted to slow dance with someone."

"Me too," Kokuro replied just as quietly.

When the music ended, they stood there for a little while longer until Mia and Yaku walked over telling them that everyone was planning a group photo. They joined them and walked over to the photographer where they met the rest of their friends. They all joined together, and took one big group photo. They then forced their parents, minus Sonomi's whom seemed to have already left, to take a picture together. Finally, they combined parents with kids. Sonomi stood in between Kokuro's and Mia's parents. The picture was taken, and aside from the previous picture with Kokuro, Sonomi smiled a true smile for the first time.

* * *

Sdrive: Season one is complete, but that doesn't mean it's the end of Ra Yellow. Season two of Ra Yellow will begin, next Friday. I hope you've all enjoyed this journey, I know I enjoyed writing it.

Original Cards:

Iron Gym: Field Magic. During each standby phase, increase the ATK of every Monster with "Iron" in its name by 300 points. When an "Iron" Monster destroys a monster on your opponent's side, equip the destroyed monster to a monster on your side of the field. That monster gains attack power for every star that monster has x200.

Iron Coach: 8 2600/2300 Earth, Warrior. During your opponent's battle phase, this monster can increase the ATK of one "Iron" Monster on your side of the field by 1000 until the end of the Damage Step. This effect can only be activated once a turn.

Iron Track Runner: 4 1000/1000 Earth, Warrior. This monster is unaffected by any of your opponent's Spell or Trap cards. If this card damages your opponent's Life Points, increase this monsters ATK equal to the damage inflicted on your opponent.


	46. Project Planning

Sdrive: If I owned it, I would give a bunch of people 50 dollar bills just for reading my stories…if I've never given you a fifty dollar bill, it's because I don't own it. Or I just don't like you, pick whichever makes you feel better.

A/N: Please note, the Association of Light is mentioned in this chapter, but it is not the same Association as the one in the original GX. I just needed a second name, so I chose it. Also, forgive me for my tardiness with this, I've been insanely busy as of late. I don't intend on stopping, but updates will take longer. I have some chapters written, so hopefully they won't be as bad from now on, update wise I mean. Also, the two songs at the beginning, the first one is the Opening theme for the first season of Ra Yellow, it's called Wake Up Your Heart. It is the ending theme of the second season of GX. I used the full song if I'm not mistaken. The second song is the opening theme for the new season of Ra Yellow, it's called Precious Times, Glory Days. It's the latest opening for GX. I hope you'll enjoy them. You can get the songs from either or by going to Janime.info going to the GX section, and then follow down to the Media section.

And now, without any more interuptions the beginning of the second season! Everyone, get ready! Cause here we go!

* * *

First Season

_**Music Begins**_

_A picture of Duel Academy is shown from an aerial view as music begins playing._

_**Three drum beats**_

_The three different dorms are shown._

_**The music picks up**_

_An aerial view of domino is switched over, showing a small yellow house._

_**Drums are hit repeatedly **_

_The Ra Yellow logo appears overhead. It shines a couple of times before fading out taking a spiral view down onto Kokuro on his roof._

_**Mada ****mienai ****jibun no ibasho o sagashite****aru kitsuzukeru**_

_Kokuro is standing in his room at home, looking over his deck before finally placing it on his side._

_**Mune no kodou ****takamari ****kakusenai ****kurai****t suyoku ****hibiku**_

_He stands up in his dorm at Duelist Academy, walks over to a mirror and looks inside. He sees Sonomi and Mia in the reflection and smiles, as he begins to turn to look at them._

_**Kinou ****yori mo ashita ****shinjite ****kyou o ikiyou**_

_He turns to see his parents, Yamato, Domid, and Selaya all standing there, with smiles and nods of approvement. Selaya gives him Soul Absorption and everyone waves good bye as he closes his eyes._

_**Utsumuite ****nanka ****inaide ****tsubasa ****hiroge ****kakeagare**_

_He opens his eyes, buttons up his yellow blazer, and looks at Sonomi and Mia as they begin pulling him out of the room._

_**Kokoro**_

_An image of Kokuro's determined face is shown._

**_Wake Up!! _**

_A picture of Sonomi is shown._

**_Itsu no hi mo_**

_Her Sacred Phoenix of Nepthies flys by in a separate screen._

**_Always!!_**

_A close up of Mia Smiling is shown._

_**Hi wa ****noboru**_

_The Silent Swordsman LV7 slashes the next screen in half._

**_Kimi no atsui_**

_Sonomi is standing on the duel field with her duel disk at the ready._

_**omoi ****shinjite ****ireba**_

_Mia is giving her peace sign and smiling._

**_Stand up!! _**

_Yaku is standing proudly._

**_Kakedaseba_**

_His XYZ Dragon Cannon is firing off a round._

**_Non Stop!!_**

_Ami is cautiously writing a message on her PDA._

**_Tomaranai_**

_Black Sage is spinning his large staff around._

_**Yumemiru ****sekai**_

_Yaku is working on equipment in the mechanics room._

_**Mezashi ****Chikara no kagiri**_

_Ami is sitting in her room, looking at a picture of Kokuro on her computer._

_**kakete ****yukou**_

_The five of them are standing around the academy, talking to each other, as the music begins to fade the picture over to various school activities that take place._

_**Owari no nai ****kono ****michi no saki ****ni ****machiukeru ****ooki ****na ****fuan Searching your future**_

_Kokuro is dueling Professor Hikari while Kahou is standing there cheering for him. Sonomi and Mia are in the stands, Kuriboh on their shoulders._

_**Yume to kibou ****nigirishimete ****tsukisusumeba ****kowaku ****wa ****nai**_

_Yaku and Jordan are dueling as Elda and Kazuki are looking down at them from atop a platform. They seem to be intensely watching the duel as Yaku pulls a winning card._

_**Mae o muki ****nakama ****shinjite ****tomo ****ni ****tabidatou**_

_Fuuten and Setsuna are busy in the card shop, drastically stocking shelves as Fuuten doesn't seem to be able to get a hold of himself._

_**Atarashii ****sekai ****mezashite ****ima ****koko ****kara **__**hashiridasu**_

_Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia are watching them, sweat drops forming on their heads. They begin helping, as Kahou, Ami, and Kazuki are busy pushing a large box onto a shelf. They all smile at each other as the job is done._

_**Tobidase**_

_The box falls and everyone begins laughing._

**_Jump Up!!_**

_Kahou is smiling at his deck in his duel disk.._

**_Hashirinuke_**

_Time Master is casting a time related spell._

**_Go Way!!_**

_Fuuten is showing off his Kuriboh Headband._

**_Susumu no sa_**

_A Kuriboh Soldier is rushing into battle._

_**Ano hi no omoi**_

_Kahou is drawing a card with confidence._

_**mune ****ni ****kizamitsuzuke**_

_Fuuten is in his "Duel Daze" Get up doing a show._

**_Shake Up!!_**

_Elda stands with a grin on her face._

**_Akiramezu_**

_A Harpie Lady slashes with its claws._

**_Do it!!_**

_Kazuki is standing with his arms crossed on a duel arena._

**_Shinjiyou_**

_Black Luster Soldier is summoned using its spell card._

_**Tsukamitorou****ze****itsuka**_

_Elda is looking at Kazuki while he's looking at her._

_**Kanau ****hazu****sa**_

_Fuuten and Setsuna are reading a magazine together._

**_Wake up your heart_**

_Everyone is standing around outside of the card shop, trading or talking._

**_Musical interlude_**

_Multiple scenes are shown from different parts of the story, Kokuro's Duel against Akuma, and Sonomi's duel against Kazuki are highlights._

_The interlude ends as Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia are all standing together, a spot light on each._

_**Kokoro o**_

**_Wake Up!_**

_Kuriboh's are flying off of Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia._

**_Itsunohimo_**

_The three are together smiling and enjoying each others company._

**_Always! _**

_Ami and Kahou are standing back to back, a Time Wizard floats behind them._

_**hiwa ****noboru**_

_The two are talking to each other at "The Simple Spot," while Ami's in her waitress uniform._

_**kimi no atsui ****omoi ****shinjiteireba**_

_Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia are having fun together while Kahou and Ami are working on Homework with each other. _

_**Stand up!**_

_Kazuki and Elda are standing next to each other, Harpie Queen is in the background._

**_Kakedaseba_**

_They are laying in Kazuki's room resting._

**_Non Stop! _**

_Fuuten and Elda are coming in from either side of the screen, smiling and waving._

**_Tomaranai_**

_They are still reading the magazine, but they are laughing now._

_**yumemiru ****sekai ****mezashi**_

_They rush out of the card shop to go meet up with everyone outside._

_**chikara no kagiri ****kaketeyukou**_

_The group photo from Parent's Night is taken and the screen slowly fades with that picture of them together._

_Second Season_

**_Main music begins_**

_Black chains shoot from all corners of the screen, until the screen is dark._

_**Wasurenai ****yo**_

_Kokuro's determined face fades in and out._

**_hajimete no yume_**

_To the left of where Kokuro had been, Sonomi's determined face is turned slightly, looking at the screen. She fades away as Mia appears, to the right of where Kokuro was. She's smiling, and also looking at the screen._

**_Oitsuzukete Keep Holding On!_**

_The Ra Yellow border appears with Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia all standing underneath it as the _

_**Music begins.**_

_A dark throne room is shown before the view zooms out into a cave like tunnel until it comes out of the exit and flies above the sky showing Duelist Academy Island hanging in the air, chains coming from the bottom of it. There's harsh wind and the sea underneath is raging._

_**Te ga ****todokanakute ****akiramekaketeta**_

_Kokuro is facing off against some kind of duelist in a cloak on a dark and windy grass area. He pulls his deck and thrusts the card inside revealing the Black Magic Curtain, the Black Magician appears from inside the curtain to face off. The screen starts zooming out, further away from the duel until…_

_**Broken Dreams. ****Okisari no yakusoku**_

_Sonomi is also duelling another cloaked duelist. She pulls Soul of Fire which causes Infernal Flame Emperor to appear behind her. The flame emperor gathers a ball of fire and throws it at the shadowed duelist causing an explosion._

**_Three quick beats._**

_The Faces of Kokuro, Sonomi, and Mia flash in the explosion, in time to the beats._

_**Mune ****ni ****sasatta mama **_

_Mia is standing in the middle of a field, she summons her Silent Swordsman LV5 which releases a powerful sword strike which causes the wind to swirl right towards the screen._

_**nukenai ****kimi no**_

_Kaiba is standing in the dark throne room, his duel disk armed, a Blue Eyes is fading in behind him._

_**kotoba o Nandomo ****kurikaeshiteru**_

_Professor Hikari is in a Duel Arena facing off against Kokuro. His Guardian Angels are around him, as one wraps its wings around him, protecting him_

_**Ima ****kaze ****ga ****senaka o oshiteru**_

_Kazuki summons black Luster Solder which appears before him, a dark shadow appears over him and he seems to be in a dark aura._

**_Get Up! Burnning Heart_**

_Elda Appears with her Harpie Queen rising in front of her, its sharp claws glisten._

**_bakuhatsu'shisou_**

_Kuriboh and Time wizard are spinning around Harpie Queen, annoying her as they play. Finally she brings her claw down and punches them both on the head._

**_LET'S TRY AGAIN!_**

_Kuriboh and Time Wizard take up the screen sweat dropping._

_**Umarekawaru ****ima o nugisutete**_

_Ami and Kahou join each other back to back while the screen spins. Ami summons Spell Striker while Kahou summons a Time Monster._

**_Precious Times!_**

_Fuuten appears summoning a Kuriboh Soldier._

**_Glory Days!_**

_Setsuna spreads her arms wide open, inviting the viewers into the card shop._

_**Ichido ****dake no Life**_

_Yaku raises a card up as XYZ Dragon Cannon appears with electricity sparking from it,_

**_LET'S TRY AGAIN!_**

_XYZ Dragon Cannon releases a blast covering the screen in light._

_**Iroawaseta ****sekai o akaku ****nure**_

_Seirei and Denkiteki are standing next to each other, followed by Akuma with an Archfiend and Artemis with Sasuke on her shoulder._

**_Take a Chance!_**

_Kokuro appears from the left in the grassy field pointing forward._

**_(Take a Chance)_**

_Aquarius overlaps Kokuro with her Trident pointed forward._

**_Shout it Loud_**

_Sonomi overlaps Aquarious, her finger pointed._

**_(Shout it Loud)_**

_Infernal Flame Emperor overlaps Sonomi._

_**Jibun ****dake no Style**_

_Three dark duelists with purple aura's have black duel disks armed, the wind blowing around them._

_**Wasurenai ****yo**_

_Peaches with moving black chains in the background and revolving back chains revolving around him levitating._

**_hajimete no yume_**

_The three black duelists have the chains wrapped around them, and their purple aura's flaring but don't seem to notice as they stand proudly on pedestals in a dark room, with a black chandelier which makes the screen go black._

**_Oitsuzukete_**

_Kokuro and Kaiba stand in the dark throne room, they arm their decks and their duel disks unfold._

**_Keep Holding On!_**

_All main cast stands together with Ra Yellow title above the Ra Yellow Dorm which is covered in black chains._

_

* * *

_Everyone had said good bye to their parents, and the party had ended. Sonomi and Kokuro had finally made up, and everything was as it should be…except for the knock on the door at 3 in the morning. 

Sonomi woke up rubbing her eyes, as the knocking continued. She climbed down the ladder and walked over opening, "It's late, you had better have a good damn reason for…" she stopped when she saw Seto Kaiba standing on the other side of the door. "Ma…Master Kaiba," she gulped.

"First off, I want to say that you're a very lucky girl," he started off. "What Kokuro did for you was beyond unselfish, and more over, had he failed, I would have had your neck."

"Ri…right," she gulped.

"Second, I want you to wake up Kokuro, to bring your decks, and meet me in my office."

"Why?" she asked.

"I'll explain when you're at my office," he said before turning and leaving.

Sonomi stood there confused, and also very nervous. She walked over to Kokuro's bed and opened the curtain just enough to stick her arm through and rub his shoulder.

He slid the curtain away and nodded, "I heard."

"You were awake?" she asked surprised.

He nodded, "I was going to get the door but when I heard you climb down the steps, I figured I'd let you do it."

"How gentlemanly," she rolled her eyes and he came down. They took turns in the bathroom, quickly switching into their uniforms, and grabbed their decks and Duel Disks.

"Do you think he's going to make us duel again?" Kokuro asked.

Sonomi shrugged, "I honestly don't know."

* * *

They made their way into the academy and found their way to the office where Seto Kaiba was standing outside. "I didn't tell you to bring your Duel Disks," he said looking at the two of them. 

"You told us to bring our Decks," Sonomi said. "We weren't sure what you wanted so we figured why waste a trip back to our room if we needed them."

"Alright you have a point," Kaiba admitted. "Follow me," he said. He started walking past them and they turned at each other shrugging before following. They walked past the Duel Arena and they gave each other another glance.

"Just where are we going?" Sonomi asked.

"I'll explain it all when we get there," Kaiba replied.

"He sure is being vague," Kokuro muttered to Sonomi.

Kaiba led them to an elevator where they stepped in and he hit a button for the basement. The elevator hummed to life and started its decent. Once the elevator landed and the doors opened he stood in the door way and turned to look at them, "Before we go any further, I need you both to promise that you won't tell anyone what you're about to hear, with the vague exception of Ms. Notosa."

"Why only her?" Kokuro asked.

"I'd prefer if you didn't mention it in front of her either, but since you both are in the same room as her, it might not be able to be helped," Kaiba admitted.

The two looked at each other and nodded, "Alright, you've got our trust," Sonomi said. "Now would you mind explaining what's going on?"

"Hinote…" Kaiba growled.

"Sorry. Master Kaiba, would you please explain what's going on," she said correcting herself. It irked her to do so, but she knew that she owed it to him, at least for now.

"That's better," Kaiba said turning and started walking into the large basement. Unlike most basements, this one wasn't dark and made entirely of cement. It had various boxes throughout it with shipments and what not, but the floor was tidy and the walls were painted.

"As Kokuro might remember, during The Project, we had an unusual duelist by the name of 'Peaches' infiltrate and duel him."

"The one with the Clown Deck," Kokuro nodded. "Yeah, I remember him."

"He still hasn't shown up again," Kaiba explained. "But we know he's up to no good."

"Just what exactly is he doing?" Sonomi asked.

"We're not sure. But we think he's in league with that intruder that you met during the Nature Hike."

"And what was he doing?" Kokuro asked.

"We don't know," Kaiba said getting annoyed at the fact the two hadn't put it together yet. He stopped at the wall at the very end of the basement and put his back to it. "However, we do have some suspicions."

"Those suspicions being…" Sonomi said letting it hang in the air.

"Have you ever heard of organizations such as The Dark Hand, and the Association of Light?" he asked.

"Not to my knowledge," Kokuro admitted.

"Nor I," Sonomi said.

"They are each organizations that seek after young duelists, and try to force them to work for them, doing whatever dirty work they want them to do."

"Dirty work?" Kokuro asked.

"Duel Assassins, Card Smugglers, things along that line," Kaiba informed. "They promise them rare cards in exchange for their services. In a way, you could almost say that they're much like the new and improved versions of the Rare Hunters. Only the DH and the AOL target younger duelists with talent figuring that the hope and promise of rare cards and lots of money will reel them in."

"That's sick," Kokuro said.

"And unfortunately, it works," Kaiba grimaced. "The original goal of every Duelist Academy Tournament Project is to find duelists in our academies that might fall victim to these kinds of gimics and get them help. Unfortunately, it hasn't been very effective as of late."

"How would it have worked to begin with?" Kokuro asked.

"In a tournament its easer to observe duelists and see how they act while dueling, and how they continue to act based on whether or not they win or lose," Sonomi said understanding. "It's much harder to watch people who are dueling out on the grounds and not be noticed, than it is in the arenas, where everyone is."

"That's right," Kaiba nodded. "However, less people have been participating in The Project recently, so I can't get info on the ones I really want."

"Like Ritsuzen," both said simultaneously.

"You both are observant," Kaiba grinned. "Which is all the more reason I want you two to help me with the newest project."

"Newest project?" they asked.

"It's not like the normal project," he answered. "This is going to be a Booster Draft kind of tournament."

"A Booster Draft?" Kokuro asked excitedly.

"Yes," he answered. "You see, the wall behind me, isn't really a wall. It opens up to reveal the inner Card Vault, where all of the rare cards are kept. There are thousands in there, and I'm going to open it up to the students."

"You're kidding?" Sonomi skeptically asked.

"I'm not," he grinned. "Any student who will want to participate will be allowed to create brand new decks using the cards in here," Kaiba began explaining. "The thought of being able to use the rarest and most powerful cards in the game should bring any student who might be influenced easily straight here, and I plan on setting you two up against the ones I consider the biggest threats."

"Like Ritsuzen," they grinned.

"I won't set you up against him immediately," Kaiba said. "He's the obvious threat, I'll need you both to face the other ones I'm worried about first, and we can save Ritsuzen for last if need be."

"It's a good plan," Sonomi smirked. "Letting them use the strongest decks they can against us, they'll surely face us without fear, thinking they have the upper hand advantage."

"It sounds fun," Kokuro said grinning.

"I want you two to have a head start," he said. "I want you to recreate your decks now, but then I'll have you go in with a separate group when we let the other students down here, so it doesn't arouse suspicion."

"But, why'd you choose us to help you with this?" Kokuro asked. "Why not have Kazuki help out?"

"While it occurred to me, Kazuki's going to be monitoring the duels with a couple of other students. They're a part of this in the background, while I'm pushing you two up on the front lines. Besides, aside from Kazuki, Seirei, and Denkiteki, you two are the only ones I can trust to do this properly."

'Seirie?' Kokuro thought. 'That's the name of the girl Kazuki mentioned.'

"Why not Mia?" Sonomi asked.

"Ms. Notosa is an excellent duelist. I hold her in high regard. The problem is, she doesn't duel often enough to catch the signs that you two would be able to spot. She's also not considered a threat by other students."

"Will she be allowed to participate in this tournament anyway?" Kokuro asked.

"Of course," Kaiba nodded. "It's open to all students."

"Cool," Kokuro nodded.

"What about Yaku then? Or any of the other Obelisk Blues?" Sonomi asked. "They'd be my first picks."

"Think about it from a normal students perspective," Kaiba said. "I practically hand you the strongest deck in the world, and I line up three duelists, two being your every day duelist, and the third being the Legend of Duelist Academy. Who would you want to face?"

Sonomi was about to speak when Kokuro cut her off, "I'd go after the Legend. I'd want to rub it in their face that I had a better deck, and that I had the skills to wield it. I'd want to prove my superiority over those who were feared, in turn becoming feared myself."

Sonomi looked at Kokuro for a moment, "You really feel that way?"

"A regular duelist would," he said turning to her. "After Yugi Mouto won not only the Duelist Kingdom Tournament, but went on to win the Battle City Tournament, the number of duelists that came to Domino from around the world lined up to try to fight the God Cards. Instant gratification, and instant fandom. It's exactly what happened to Yugi the first time he beat Master Kaiba, though it wasn't his intention."

"I'm surprised you never saw it that way," Kaiba said disappointed at Sonomi.

"I'm so used to living my life on the top, I suppose it didn't occur to me," Sonomi admitted.

"Don't give me that," Kokuro said.

"Excuse me?" Sonomi asked.

"I can't believe it!" she shrieked. "First you beat Professor Hikari and then you come in here and invade this dormitory!"

"Now wait just a moment, what did I do to you to make you get so upset at me?" Kokuro asked getting defensive.

"You ruined me!" she screamed at him.

"What? How could I have ruined you?"

"You blew my chances of getting what I wanted this year!" She shrieked at him.

"Hey, I've come a long way since then!" Sonomi said getting defensive. "Excuse me for not dwelling on the past. Besides, I can't change it, so I might as well look forward, and only look back to see where I've come from and how far I've gone."

"That was kind of my point," Kokuro said smiling. "You have come a long way."

Sonomi stared at Kokuro for a moment before Kaiba brought them back to attention by clearing his throat. "Right, the tournament," she said looking at him. "Something still bothers me, the students will all have to return the cards in the end right?" she asked. Kaiba nodded, "So would they really bother even entering?"

"The winner of the whole tournament will be allowed to keep the deck they created with the rare cards as a prize," Kaiba said grinning. "And then will be able to take up to two other cards from the vault."

"That kind of prize will really make the students with power issues try to build decks out of the rarest cards possible," Kokuro nodded, a smile playing on his face.

"Exactly," Kaiba smirked. "But they'll have to be strategic about it. You see, for this tournament, instead of the usual eight thousand Life Points; to ensure that the tournament will go quickly, and to see just how good these duelists are, they are only going to be allowed four thousand Life Points at the start of each duel."

"Less life points means more cards to try to make OTK's," Sonomi nodded.

"Exactly," Kaiba grinned.

"I think it's a great idea," Kokuro agreed. "But how are you going to prevent the kids from stealing?"

"Each card is under lock down, only a supervisor can pull out the cards for the students. Currently they aren't locked though. It'll be too much of a hassle for me to have to go back and forth between you two to get cards for you. So I'm going to let you both choose whatever ones you want, but trusting you to not steal anything, because I will know."

"Right," they said nodding.

"Now then," he went over to a key pad and entered in a code which slid the wall back revealing a giant iron door. He re-entered a different password on the control pad sticking on the door and the giant vault opened. Inside Kokuro and Sonomi gazed in awe at all the glass cases filled with thousands of cards.

"It's better than the card shop back home," Kokuro said grinning.

"I'll bet I could find cards that not even my father could have gotten me," Sonomi said equally impressed.

"You'd be right," Kaiba said walking up to the two. "The only cards I don't think you'll be able to find are my Blue Eyes cards and the Black Magician. However, cards that aid them are in there, such as Kaibaman and Black Magician Girl."

"And we can create any kind of deck we want?" Kokuro asked.

"Create any kind or simply strengthen your own," Kaiba agreed. "But remember, you'll only be able to use four thousand Life Points and you'll only get to keep the cards if you win. That's why I called you down here tonight. If all goes according to plan, the teachers will make the announcement tomorrow, the students will make their decks on Tuesday, and the tournament will take place Wednesday."

Kokuro looked around and then turned to Kaiba, "Master Kaiba, if it's not too much trouble to ask, my friend Ami has kind of made herself my apprentice. She's modeled her deck after mine and I've promised I'd help her with her strategies and what not. If she decides to participate, can I go in with her group and help her with her choices."

"That'll be fine," Kaiba answered. "As long as you don't tell her your part in this."

"Understood," Kokuro said as he began walking through the halls looking for cards he might want to have in his deck. Meanwhile, Sonomi was already going through countless cards, looking at some, putting some back. She was amazed at some of the finds.

"Can Side Deck cards be kept as well?" she called back to him.

"Yes," Kaiba replied.

Kokuro was doing the once over around the entire room, which ended up taking him at least twenty minutes. He bumped into Sonomi a couple of times while he was trying to keep track of cards he thought might help. Finally, he started going to rows and began picking cards out.

Kokuro was taking a couple of cards that looked like they would really help, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw something interesting. He walked over to it and saw that at the end of the row he was in, there was a large podium with a glass case with a pillow inside. He didn't remember seeing it earlier so the new find intrigued him.

On top of the pillow were two silver items. One looked like a very old silver key, while the other was a silver medallion with Egyptian pictures carved into it. It seemed to be a pyramid in the center with a glowing Ahnk above it. There were cobras on either side of the pyramid, and overlapping the pyramid was a silver eye.

"Master Kaiba," Kokuro called out.

"What is it?" he asked from the other side of the vault.

"Could you please come here?" he asked. Kaiba came walking into the vault and soon found Kokuro looking at the glass case. "What is this?" he asked pointing down at the items in the case.

Kaiba looked at them and a small look of annoyance appeared in his eyes, 'Those are those items Yugi told me to guard…' Kaiba thought to himself. His eyes suddenly widened, 'That's it! These must be what Peaches and that man during the Nature Hike were trying to find!'

"Umm…Master Kaiba?" Kokuro asked.

"They were gifts from Yugi on the very last day I watched him duel when he was in Egypt," Kaiba answered. "He often liked to make believe that he was some hot shot pharaoh, and so he made those items before he left and asked me to hold on to them for him."

"That's so cool," Kokuro said eyeing the medallion in particular. "I've always thought Egypt was a cool place, and I've always wanted something made in Egypt about Egypt."

Kaiba's eye rose as he looked at Kokuro, 'If these items are truly what they're after, then perhaps Kokuro will be of even more assistance than I first thought…'

"Come to think of it, why do you have them all the way down here in the vault?" Kokuro asked.

"Yugi told me to make sure they were kept someplace safe, so when this room was constructed, I figured what better place to keep them than in a vault?"

"You're so lucky…" Kokuro grinned.

"I'll cut you a deal Kokuro," Kaiba said looking at him.

"A deal?" Kokuro asked.

"If you promise to face Ritsuzen during the tournament, and get the info I need to get him out of my hair, I'll let you wear that medallion during the tournament, and if you manage to defeat him, I'll let you keep it."

"I couldn't do that," Kokuro said a little shocked. "Even though I really want to," Kokuro said, his want showing in his voice. "They were given to you by Yugi Mouto!"

"I'll keep the other one," Kaiba said taking out a set of keys and unlocking the case taking the ancient looking silver key for himself and holding the medallion out by its chain to Kokuro. "Besides, I've never been a fan of Egypt myself.

"Are…are you sure?" Kokuro asked.

"Defeat Ritsuzen during the tournament and it's yours," Kaiba smirked.

"I…I will," Kokuro said gratefully accepting the gift. He put it around his neck and smiled, "This is so cool."

"There is one other condition," Kaiba said seriously. "Under no circumstances, are you to ever give it away to anyone, or wager it in a duel, for any reason."

"Don't worry, I won't," he said admiring it.

Kaiba nodded and started heading back towards the entrance of the vault. 'Unfortunately, you may not be able to keep that promise…' he thought to himself. 'There might just come a time when we're each forced to wager them, but I have faith that when that time comes you won't let me down.'

Kokuro stood there admiring the medallion when Kaiba cleared his throat, "You need to hurry up so you can go back to sleep," he reminded.

"Oh…right," Kokuro said grinning. He ran off to go finish finding cards. About half an hour later Kokuro and Sonomi finished their decks and were on their way out with Kaiba.

"What's that?" Sonomi asked pointing at the medallion.

"Isn't it cool?" Kokuro asked excitedly.

"It looks old," Sonomi said looking at it.

"And apparently it's only a couple years old," Kokuro said grinning. "More importantly, Yugi Mouto made it in Egypt. So I can officially say it was made in Egypt," he smiled.

Sonomi looked over at Kaiba with curious expression on her face, "That was awfully nice of you," she said.

"I'm more than happy to let go of it if it means getting Ritsuzen under control," Kaiba said, the key in his pocket so she couldn't see it.

Sonomi looked between Kokuro and Kaiba quickly before shrugging. "Whatever."

* * *

"Wake up already!" Mia yelled at Sonomi and Kokuro whom were still sleeping in bed. "We're going to be late for our new semester!" 

"Just five more minutes," Kokuro grumbled turning over.

"Ditto," Sonomi replied.

"This isn't like you two," Mia said upset. "Kokuro is normally energetic and Sonomi usually wants to get a move on to prove she's better than everyone else."

The two kind of stared at her for a moment before groggily pulling themselves out of bed and taking turns getting dressed. They were still tired from their late night experience in the card vault and were ready for some sound sleeping. They had stayed up for a bit afterwards talking about what Kaiba had told them.

"Move it or lose it," Mia encouraged them.

"We're up already," Kokuro said tiredly.

"Give us a break," Sonomi muttered.

"Uh uh, that's not the attitude of winners," Mia scolded.

"Whatever," they replied as Mia pulled them out of the room. They started walking towards the main academy building. Mia ran off for her new class while Sonomi and Kokuro headed over to Professor Hikari's room.

They entered and took their seats next to each other and waited for the class to start. It was one minute before the official class start and time for Professor Hikari to actually begin teaching; however the teacher was nowhere to be found.

After ten minutes Professor Hikari still hadn't shown up. "What a way to start the new semester," Sonomi grumbled.

"I know, I could have had an extra ten minutes of sleep," Kokuro said resting his head on the desk. The door was suddenly swung open causing Kokuro to shoot his head up and looked out to see Professor Hikari walking quickly into the room. He slammed his bag down onto his desk and turned to the class.

"Excuse my tardiness," he said looking at them. "However I was getting the in depth explanation of a new Duel Project which is going to be taking place very soon."

Everyone in the room began murmuring about the news while Sonomi and Kokuro simply looked at each other. Sonomi whispered, "I thought the announcement wasn't going to be made until the end of classes."

"Apparently not," Kokuro shrugged. Then turned to Hikari, "Can I be excused the next time I'm late?"

"Can it Samé," Hikari growled. "Now, if you'll all quit talking," Hikari said harshly grabbing everyone's attention once more. "This new Duel Project will be similar to a booster draft where you choose cards from a booster pack and create the best deck you can. However this project will be using the cards in our vault, in other words, you'll all have access to the strongest cards imaginable," Hikari grinned. This got more murmurs out of the students. "Since you'll be able to create a variety of excellent decks using this opportunity, we're going to be going over multiple strategies involving rare cards that aren't normally seen," he explained, "in order to prepare you for the tournament. Please turn to the very back of your texts to chapter 46," he announced.

'Leave it to Professor Hikari to take advantage of something like this for his own personal gain,' Kokuro thought grimly. Then he looked down at the medallion around his neck, 'Though I shouldn't be talking I suppose.'

* * *

Kokuro left class with Sonomi in tow, "That was actually one of his more informative classes," Sonomi said. 

"Yeah so it was," Kokuro nodded.

"So, what do you have next?" she asked him.

"Duelist Class II," Kokuro responded. "It's the second Duelist Class," he explained. "I signed up for it as an Obelisk and would have normally had to take the first one, but being an Obelisk they pushed me to go into number two so I did. Kahou gave me the basic run down earlier in the week of class one so I wouldn't be out of the loop."

"In other words he's going to be in that class with you," she said.

"Yeah. He'll help me if I have any problems." Kokuro checked his PDA for the time. "I better get running," he said.

Sonomi watched him turn and something made her stop him, "Wait!" she called out.

Kokuro turned back around, "Yeah?" he asked.

"Uh…um…" she looked down at the ground and then back at him, trying to think, "Um…good luck," she said.

Kokuro raised his eyebrow but shrugged it off, "Yeah, thanks," he said.

He started to head off and Sonomi shook her head, 'What was that?' she asked herself before leaving for her next class.

* * *

Kokuro sat down in his newest class with the Ra Yellow's, but sat in the row directly behind Kahou. He sat diagonal to him so that he could ask him questions without having to look at the back of his head. "Hey what's your name," Kokuro said grinning. 

"Ha ha," Kahou said sarcastically. "So, welcome to Duelist Class II," Kahou said shaking his hand.

"Thanks," Kokuro replied returning the hand shake.

As more students came in, Kokuro immediately noticed Ami walking into the room. She looked around until she spotted Kokuro and Kahou. She walked up the steps and sat down next to Kahou before quickly bowing to Kokuro. "Good Morning," she said to them.

"Good morning," they replied.

A few minutes later the instructor walked into the room and looked around. He was a middle aged man with slightly graying hair wearing the official Obelisk Instructor's uniform.

"Greetings students, my name is Joretsu Joutan; however you can call me Joutan-Sensei," he informed. "This is Duelist Class II. In this class we will be taking a look at famous duelists who helped make Duel Monsters the successful game it is, we will also take a look at some of the current Duelists who are successful in the Pro League. Also, we will study duelists who have left this academy and have made a difference in the world of Dueling, whether it be by dueling or by getting successful jobs at Industrial Illusions, and even Kaiba Corp."

'This sounds like a cool class,' Kokuro thought excitedly.

"Now then students, if you'll open up the text books you received for this class to page five…"

* * *

Once class was over Kokuro, Kahou and Ami walked out of the class together talking, "I think I'm going to have fun in this class," Kokuro said smiling. 

"I love it," Kahou said happily. "You learn about so many successful duelists," he grinned. "But I'll admit, that new Duel Project sounds like a really cool idea."

Kokuro nodded, every class was mentioning it at the end of their lectures. "It looks like it starts tomorrow," he nodded before looking over at Ami, "You should participate."

"Me?" she asked nervously.

Kokuro nodded, "It would be perfect training for you," he said. "With the multiple cards you'll have access too, you'll no doubt be able to learn whole lot."

"I suppose," she said looking down.

"Do you have a deck idea you want to try out?" Kahou asked her.

"Well…I have been toying with an idea, but I don't know how I could make it work…"

"What's the idea?" Kokuro asked her.

"Well, I want a deck that's like yours," she said looking up at Kokuro, "But I want it to be different also. You see, when we dueled, I realized that I enjoyed having a deck that was like yours, but I liked the differences also, it truly made me feel like your apprentice."

Kokuro chuckled slightly, her being his apprentice was still an odd feeling, "Alright."

"So, I was thinking of what I thought was a neat idea, but I'm not sure if it will work."

"If it can, we'd be more than happy to help you," Kahou said.

"Well," she said taking out her deck searching until she found the Black Magician Kokuro had given her. "You know how Black Magician has so many different forms?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Kahou asked.

"There's Black Magician Knight, Black Magician of Chaos, Black Sage, a whole bunch of them," she said.

"Oh, I get it," Kokuro nodded.

"Well, I thought maybe a deck like that would be nice. A deck that utilizes all of those."

Kokuro nodded, "It's certainly the best time to test it out," he agreed. "And I'm sure the vault has a whole bunch of cards that could help you with it." Kokuro actually knew for a fact that it did, having seen it first hand. "However, there are certain things you'll need to make the deck work."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"That kind of deck would be difficult to pull off with only one Black Magician, so you'll have to think of the important things you'll need in order to make it work."

"And what are those?" she asked.

Kahou understood and looked at Ami, "First and foremost, what would you need to make the deck work?" he asked.

"A Black Magician," Ami replied making the two face fault.

"That's a given," Kokuro said standing back up. "But you already have that, so what's the next thing you need for it to work. What would you need to do while actually playing the deck?"

"Summon the Black Magician!" she answered.

"Right," they said nodding.

"But even then there's a problem," Kokuro said. "Most of the special forms of Black Magician need you to send it to the graveyard. What will you need then?"

"A way to bring it back," she answered happily.

"On the nose" Kahou said putting his finger on his nose.

"So you need ways to summon it quickly, and you need to be able to bring it back from the Graveyard," Kokuro said nodding. "However, there's one thing that your opponent could do that could ruin the strategy. Do you know what it is?"

"Umm…uh," Ami said trying hard to think but she couldn't think of it.

"What would happen if your opponent removed it from play?" Kokuro asked her.

"I wouldn't have a way to bring it back!" she gasped. "The deck would shut down."

"Right," Kokuro nodded. "Now, although there will probably be cards in there for just such emergencies, since you can't always count on a different form to save you, you would need a way to bring it back."

"I understand," she nodded.

"I'll help you look for cards to help with all these problems," Kokuro said. "You already have Magical Mallet in your deck, which will really help save you," he said. "Because you'll be in a bad position if you're stuck with an entire hand of Black Magician cards that can't be used."

"Right," she smiled. "I think this will be fun."

"And who knows, maybe it'll be good enough to win," he grinned. "I think everyone should look out since the Black Magician Transformation Deck is going to be pretty tough."

"Hey that's a cool name," she admitted.

"Thanks," Kokuro said grinning. "Now then you also need to remember…" He stopped when he felt something pulling him away.

"What's wrong?" Ami asked.

"I'm…not sure…" he admitted. He looked around but no one was there. "Well, that was strange."

"Come on," Kahou said. Let's go get things ready!" he shouted.

"Um, right," Kokuro said nodding. He ran off with them, still feeling kind of weird.

* * *

During lunch time Kokuro was ordering some ramen and rice when the world went dark. He realized a set of hands had clasped over his face. "Guess who," a very gruff, fake manly voice said. 

"Mia on steroids?" Kokuro asked. After a smack on the head he turned to see Mia standing there laughing. "Was hitting me really necessary?" he asked.

"I would never take icky steroids!" Mia said smiling at him. "I don't want to destroy my girlish figure," she said posing for him.

Kokuro had to turn away so that he didn't end up embarrassing himself, "So, have you heard about the tournament?"

"Totally!" Mia said getting her food tray and also taking Kokuro's. "Come on," she said putting Kokuro's on top of her head and began walking."

"Hey!" he said chasing after her.

"Touch me and I won't be responsible for what happens to you," she said balancing the tray perfectly on her head. She got to the table and set it down, using her head again, before setting hers down.

"How do you do this stuff?" he asked her.

"I'm just very talented," she said winking. Kokuro smiled and began walking towards the table again when he felt something pull him to the side. Since nothing was around he fell flat on the floor, causing Mia to jump up and dash over to his side. "Kokuro!" she gasped holding him up. "Kokuro, are you ok?"

"I…I think so," he said shaking his head. "I…I just tripped…that…that's all." She helped him stand up and this was the first time she noticed his medallion.

"What's this?" she asked pointing at it.

"What?" he asked looking at where she was pointing. 'Oh jeeze,' he thought looking at it. 'Think Kokuro, think…'

"Well?"

"It was a gift," Kokuro said.

"From who?" she asked.

"A teacher. I told them how much I like Egypt, and they let me have this, which they got when they were there."

"Oh cool," Mia said. "Can you stand?"

"Yeah, I think so," Kokuro said having her help him up. They sat back down at the table, and began to eat. "So, you know, you should really join the tournament," Kokuro said to her, feeling better.

"You think so?" Mia asked.

"Yeah," Kokuro said nodding. "You don't do a lot of dueling on your own, so it should be good for you."

"Well, then I will," she said smiling. "Besides, it could be fun."

"There you go," he said. The continued eating and talking, with no other interruptions or disturbances.

* * *

The rest of the day went by quickly, with every student on the island being informed of the upcoming Duel Project it was the only topic being discussed. It was especially on the minds of Ritsuzen and Kyusai-Sensei. 

"That last tournament wasn't worth the time it would have taken to participate," Ritsuzen said with a grin on his face, "But this new one, where we can choose from the rarest cards themselves; it's the perfect way to defeat Kokuro once and for all."

"You've been much better in dueling other students," Kyusai-Sensei told him. "I thought you had finally moved on…"

"Kokuro Samé has humiliated me twice this year," Ritsuzen growled momentarily before putting the grin back on his face, "So I must make sure that I start evening the score. My deck is unbalanced; I didn't realize this at first." He took out the deck and started scanning over it. "Zombies and Demons don't work well together. Actually…I take that back. They do work well together, but not with this combination."

"So you're going to make the combination that does work right?" Kyusai-Sensei asked trying to sound encouraging.

"Actually, I'm going to revert it all to one type," Ritsuzen admitted putting it away. "Trying to split the deck in half does not seem to be working for me, so I will fix it." He glared momentarily, "To think, all this time…I was at a school that was unworthy of my potential…"

"I thought you learned that this school had many of great duelists…"

"I was talking about North School," Ritsuzen growled. "That school was the school of losers. While most of the students here are horrible, there are exceptional students here, ones that pushed me to my limits…limits I never expected I could be taken too."

"Are…are you admitting that you were wrong?" Kyusai-Sensei asked.

"Indeed," Ritsuzen admitted. "But I shall make my rise to power complete," Ritsuzen turned to look at Kyusai-Sensei with narrowed eyes. "I will become the best student here, and I will take Kokuro Samé, Sonomi Hinote, and Kazuki Ishihaka down. That much I can assure you."

Kyusai-Sensei looked at Ritsuzen, 'He's still a piece of work…but admitting he was wrong is a huge step…' He nodded at Ritsuzen, "Good luck." Ritsuzen turned around and continued walking without responding.

* * *

Kokuro and Sonomi were walking along the water down at the beach, "It's been a hectic year so far," Kokuro mused, "And to top it off, we've got this huge tournament to look forward too." 

"It's hard to believe that in only half a year, I could find a great friend, and lose my worst enemy," Sonomi said. "Who'd have thought that you'd be the reason for both?" she asked. Kokuro smiled at her and Sonomi felt a rush of blood run to her face.

"You're blushing," Kokuro said worriedly. "Are you ok? It is kind of hot."

"I'm fine," she said turning away and looking towards the water. "I just think it's an after effect of staying up last night."

"That could be it," Kokuro said watching her carefully. Sonomi turned back and her face was clearer now. "And now you're miraculously better," he pointed out.

Sonomi shrugged, "Maybe it was the heat."

"Want to grab a drink down at 'The Simple Spot?'" he asked.

She nodded and they walked over to the restaurant. "Oh, I got Mia to join the tournament," Kokuro mentioned.

"Oh really?" Sonomi asked.

He nodded, "I told her that it would be good for her since she doesn't duel that often."

"Yeah, really," Sonomi nodded.

They arrived at the restaurant, ordered some cold drinks and waited for them on the outside balcony. "The water looks nice," Kokuro mused. "The way the sun is reflecting off of it."

"Yeah," Sonomi nodded.

Their drinks arrived and they took them thanking the waiter that brought the over. Kokuro watched Sonomi take a long sip of her drink and smiled, "feel better?"

"Yeah," she nodded. A gentle breeze blew through the balcony rustling their hair, "So…how's your deck look?" she asked not having anything else to talk about.

"It's good," Kokuro said looking down at the deck box on his side. "I'm not going to duel until the new tournament," he admitted. "I don't want anyone watching me in action, they might suspect something."

"That's what I'm doing," Sonomi nodded. She looked out at the ocean, and took another sip of her drink. 'This is nice…' she thought to herself. 'I've never been this relaxed around Kokuro, it's a nice change.'

"Something on your mind?" he asked her.

She looked over and shook her head, "Just enjoying the moment," she said smiling slightly.

_

* * *

The evening passed without too much happening and soon the students went to sleep in their rooms._

_"I guess tomorrow's going to be a big day," Kokuro said. "We'd all better get some good sleep."_

_"Yeah!" Mia nodded excitedly and climbed into her bed._

_"See you both in the morning," Sonomi said climbing into her bunk bed._

_"Good night," Kokuro said climbing into his own bed and laying down. 'I wonder what the days ahead are going to bring?' Kokuro thought to himself spinning the medallion around his neck. 'Well, I have to beat Ritsuzen if I want to keep this, that's for sure,' Kokuro thought chuckling to himself before falling asleep._

_Swirling sand spun all around Kokuro. He had to cover his eyes in order to shield himself from being blinded. 'Where, am I?' he wondered looking around. He was in a desert of sand. The sky above him was dotted with stars, but what was most intriguing was the planets above. "What the!" he called out looking at the planets almost in a line._

_"That…that shouldn't be possible," he said looking at them. "Planetary alignment is the stuff of fiction…it can't really happen!"_

_"What is the matter Mercury?" a feminine voice said behind him. He turned to see a young girl dressed in blue, carrying a trident. Her hair was as blue as her robes which contained a wave pattern._

_"Mercury?"Kokuro asked her. He looked down to see that he was wearing tan robes. He was wearing a necklace made out of different colored stones. In his hands he realized he was holding a long stone staff._

_"What's going on?" he asked._

_"Heh, don't act like you don't know," the girl said nudging up next to him. "Out of all of us, you sure are the odd ball." She rested her head on his shoulder, "But it's ok, I still love you."_

_"Excuse me…" Kokuro started but was interrupted by the girl pressing her lips to his. He couldn't tell what it was about her, but he couldn't stop himself from joining her in her passionate kiss._

_The girl released the kiss and sighed, "Come on, we don't want to be late." She grabbed his hand and pulled him with her. Kokuro was still confused, and was even more confused when they got to a group of people standing around in a circle. Each one was wearing a different kind of robe._

_"Are you both ready?" one of the people asked._

_"Yes," Mercury nodded._

_'What?' Kokuro thought watching the group from the skies. 'What's going on?' Seven symbols began to appear underneath seven of the people. They all glowed brightly before they shot out to reveal a giant glowing circle with symbols all around. 'A…giant rune circle?'Kokuro thought. He looked up and saw that the planets in the sky beginning to shine. 'What…what's going on?' he asked as the planets released beams of light that fired down from the sky onto the circle below._

_Suddenly black chains burst from the ground enveloping the world below. "Wait…what's going on?" Kokuro shouted as the chains began to wrap around him, tighter and tighter. "Stop…" he whispered…"STOP!"_

_Kokuro jolted awake, a deep sweat all across his forehead. "What…what a strange dream," he thought looking around at the darkness. He opened the curtain to see that he was in his Ra Yellow room. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and buried his face in his hands, breathing deeply. 'Calm down Kokuro,' he told himself. 'It's just a dream. Go back to sleep,' he told himself lying back down. Sleep didn't come easily, but it finally came, and he slept undisturbed for the rest of the night._

_

* * *

_During the next day, the students went in groups to the card vault. Sonomi and Kokuro both went in as planned by Kaiba, but Kokuro went in a separate group with Ami and Kahou. 

They were currently going over a set of cards that could help Ami with her deck, when Kokuro nearly fell backwards.

"Are you ok?" Ami asked worriedly.

"I'm…fine," he said. He stood up and he could swear that something was pulling him away.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Ami asked.

"Yeah," he said looking over at her. "So, what do you think about the cards?"

"Look at them all," Ami said holing a handful of cards in her hand. They were inside the vault, and the cards in her hand were all different forms of the Black Magician.

"I think it's really nice that you're building a deck using them," Kokuro told her. "You're using a spellcaster deck, but at the same time you're creating your own deck. I have a couple cards that you can use for the tournament that will help with a couple of the problems we've talked about."

"Thank you so much," Ami said happily.

"How about you?" Kokuro asked Kahou. "What's your deck going to look like?"

"I'm sticking with my Time Deck," Kahou admitted. "It's already one of a kind."

"Glad to hear it," Kokuro smiled. It was then that he felt the tugging at his side again. "I'll be back in a few," he said as he rushed over to wherever he felt like he was being tugged until he came to a small glass case.

Inside the case were many rare cards, but one seemed to be calling out to him, almost as if it wanted him to take it. He looked at the picture and gasped. He slowly read the text below, "How strange," he thought, though he couldn't help but smile.

* * *

In a different part of the vault, Jordan Sabre was looking over a wall of cards with a teacher standing next to him. 'Cyber Laser Dragon…Cyber Barrier Dragon…Proto Cyber Dragon…" he looked at all the different Cyber Dragon cards. "With these cards…surely I can beat Yaku and become the best Machine Duelist. His eyes then fell upon another Cyber Dragon card. "What's that?" he asked pointing to it. 

"Oh that?" the guard asked. "It's a promotional Cyber Dragon Card that hasn't been released in any booster packs," he explained. "Master Kaiba went to great lengths to obtain that one since it's the only one created so far."

Jordan read the description on the card and his face contorted into a huge grin, 'This card…this will surely allow me to win…' He turned to the guard, "I want it," he said almost fiercely. "I want all of those cards. I'll become the best duelist here with these cards," he said gleaming at them.

"Alright, chill," the guard said taking out his key and logging the cards he was pulling from a list on a PDA that had Jordan's name on it.

Jordan grinned as the guard handed him the cards, 'This will be perfect…'

In another section of the room, a guard had just handed Ritsuzen a handful of cards. Ritsuzen fanned through them and got a gleam in his eyes, 'This will be perfect…'


	47. Pain of the Heart

Sdrive: Apologies to the forever wait and thanks to my more or less Beta reader. I've worked hard on it, now it's up to you the people. Does it pass?

* * *

Ra Yellow:

Chapter 47

Pain of the Heart.

The day had come to a close, and most were sleeping in their dorm rooms. For a lot of the staff, they were busy recalibrating the systems so that the Duel Disks would start with four thousand Life Points rather than eight thousand.

"Has the list of competitors been finished?" Kaiba asked.

"Yes sir," a guard answered plugging a Flash Drive into the USB port on the computer. The guard opened a few folders and then opened a document with a list of all competitors. "Here you are sir."

Kaiba looked through the list and grinned when he saw Ritsuzen was one of the competitors, "Excellent." He stood looking over the list, and then wondered aloud, "I wonder if the tournament is truly going to pull this off?"

"What do you mean?" a guard asked him.

"I'm getting an idea, and it's a good one," Kaiba began grinning. "Make sure the first announcement made tomorrow morning is a delay. I need to write a couple of e-mails."

* * *

A man in a dark black trench coat wearing a top hat was standing inside of a dark room where the shadowy figure of another man was sitting on a chair at the far end of a long table. "Sir," the eerie voice of Peaches said coming from the trench coated figure. "It would appear that a whole new window of opportunities has befallen us," he grinned an evil looking grin. "Seto Kaiba has started a new tournament on the island, and has left the Card Vault practically wide open. We should be able to obtain what we need without much difficulty."

"So it would seem," a very tired sounding voice said. "I shall send 'Ender' to deal with whatever guard might be on the lookout at the vault, while distracted, you can sneak in and take what I desire."

"When do you want me to move?" Peaches asked.

"I'll give the signal when the time is right," the voice said.

"Very well," Peaches said before the shadows around him consumed him and he vanished. The shadows restored themselves to their original positions while a heavy sigh was heard from the man on the chair.

* * *

Kokuro woke up early the next morning and rushed to take a shower. He was in and out faster than he had ever been before. He switched his clothes, grabbed his deck and was ready to go. "This is excellent," he said excitedly.

"You seem energetic and ready to go," Sonomi said from behind him. He turned around and smiled at her.

"You bet," he said. "We may be in this for business, but I'm definitely going to do my best and have fun."

Sonomi couldn't help but grin a little, "business or not, I'm going to win this thing."

"Then best of luck to you," he said extending his hand.

"You too," she said and they shook.

Kokuro unclasped his hand and turned to look at her, "I'm going to go get breakfast and then I'll be back."

"Alright," Sonomi nodded. Kokuro ran out the door and Sonomi watched him leave. She wasn't sure why, but she wished he would have waited for her before leaving. She tried to shrug it off and went to go take a shower when an announcement was suddenly heard throughout the entire island.

_Attention students participating in the special Card Draft Duel Project, we regret to inform you that there has been a delay. The special tournament will not start today as promised. Please refrain from using your new decks until the start of the tournament which will be announced when more information is gained. Thank you and please keep yourselves prepared until the next announcement. That is all._

"What…what was that all about?" Sonomi asked herself. A moment later Kokuro came rushing back into the room.

"Sonomi, did you hear that?" he asked.

"Yeah," Sonomi nodded. "Let me take a quick shower then we need to have a talk with Master Kaiba."

* * *

Half an hour later Sonomi and Kokuro were admitted into Kaiba's office. "What's going on?" Sonomi asked Kaiba as soon as she saw him. "What about everything you told us?"

"I regret to inform you that there has been a change in plans," Kaiba said to the two of them. "But I feel that this change needs to be made."

"What exactly is going on?" Kokuro asked. "You asked for our help, all we want is to be kept into the loop."

"I realized something," Kaiba said. "We're not the only possible targets here."

"What do you mean?" Sonomi asked. "I thought the whole point of this tournament was to weed out those who could be easily influenced."

"It is," Kaiba said. "And it still will be. I suspect that by the end of this week, you'll both have enough insight in order to realize what I've done. Let's just say I'm killing four birds with one stone."

"I don't get it," Kokuro said.

"Trust me, you will. Until then classes will continue as usual, with the exception of today. You're dismissed."

The two were shown out of Kaiba's office where Sonomi was seething. "This isn't right! He asked for our help, he should give us some straight answers!"

"Calm down Sonomi," Kokuro said taking her hand. "There's nothing we can do right now. How about we have breakfast and talk this through."

Sonomi looked at Kokuro, and then at his hand over hers, and then over at Kaiba's office. She sighed and nodded, "fine…"

* * *

Over the next few days, there was a lot of confusion between students and teachers. Teachers tried the best they could to teach class but were constantly bombarded by questions about the tournament. Finally, one afternoon after classes an announcement was made by Kaiba himself.

"_Attention all students and faculty, report to the gathering hall immediately for an update on our new tournament. All your questions will finally be answered._

This immediately got all students to stop whatever it was they were doing, and rush out towards the main academy building from all over. Sonomi, and Mia were walking from the Ra Yellow dorm while Kokuro, Yaku, and Kahou left the maintenance room where they had been helping Hitoku make repairs.

"What do you think is going on?" Kahou asked.

"I'm not sure," Kokuro admitted. As they kept walking, they saw a large boat sitting out by the docks, with what looked like all kinds of students coming from it. "What's up with that?" Kokuro asked.

"Wish I knew," Yaku said as they continued walking towards the gathering hall.

* * *

Everyone began taking their seats, along with the new students that no one could recognize. Kokuro tried to make his way to where Sonomi and Mia were sitting, but a new student sat down next to them before he could get there. He was a boy with messy brown hair that went down right before his cheeks. He was on the thin side, and was in an Osiris Red uniform.

"Um, I don't mean to sound mean or anything," Kokuro said when he got to him, "but this section is for Ra Yellow's only."

"Hmph, of course it is," the boy said. "Take a look around dude, there's nowhere else to sit. And, I'm normally an easy going guy, but I don't like the fact that just cause I'm wearing red and you're in yellow, that you actually suspect me to move just because I'm in your color. Find someplace else to sit."

"It's just that you're sitting next to my two friends, and I kind of need to talk with one of them right now. So could you please…"

"Boo hoo," the boy said. "Find your own place."

Move it or lose it," Kokuro said getting irritated.

"No way, I was here first!" The boy said getting stubborn.

"Excuse me," Sonomi said looking over at the boy. "Are you aware of exactly who I am?"

"No, should I care?" the boy asked.

"I don't know where you're from, but I'm sure you've heard of me. My name's Sonomi Hinote…"

"And that means?" The boy asked.

"Listen, him right there," she said pointing at Kokuro, "and her," she said pointing to Mia, "are really the only people I want around me right now. You see, I've had a really bad day today, and the people here are usually smart enough not to mess with me, but you're obviously new here and quite frankly, I wouldn't mind beating the ever loving snot out of someone I don't know. So, you have two choices now, you can get your butt up and move for my friend there, or I can kick you all the way back from that boat you came from and make you never want to step foot on this island again."

"Alright, alright, geeze!" The boy said getting up letting Kokuro into his spot. As he began to walk away Sonomi called out a thank you to him, to which the boy gave them all a stiff middle one.

"Good to see you too," Kokuro said sitting down next to Sonomi.

"You know, I was actually having a really good day up until he took your spot, and then suddenly my whole day was ruined," She said grinning.

"What would I do without you?" Kokuro asked her.

Sonomi suddenly got startled by his question, "Well, um, I know you can take care of yourself…" she said losing her words.

"Oook," Kokuro said staring at her.

"Are you ok?" Mia asked her. "You've been acting a little funny ever since Parent's Night ended."

"I'm fine…" Sonomi assured her. 'Or am I?' she thought to herself. 'Conversations with Kokuro have gotten much more difficult. Either I'm losing my edge or he's just getting smarter.' She tried to laugh at her own joke, but found that she couldn't. 'That always used to be funny…' she thought worriedly.

"Attention everyone, please try to find a seat as quickly as possible!" Suji-Sensei said through a microphone. "At the very least, please try to find some place to settle yourselves; we have to get things rolling as fast as possible."

"Give me that," Kaiba said taking the microphone from Suji-Sensei. "I don't care where you are as long as you all find a place to sit down and listen!" Kaiba yelled into the microphone. The entire room got deathly quiet. "That's better," Kaiba said smirking.

"Now then, the students of this here Duelist Academy had a booster draft tournament planned for the next couple of days or so. However, I realized that it wasn't fair to leave out the rest of the academies. As most of you here know, you've all received rare cards from your individual Duelist Academy's Card Vaults of your own choosing. The reason will now be explained. You are all invited to partake in this half a semester wide Booster Draft Tournament!"

"Half a semester?" some of the students began to murmur to each other.

"Quiet!" Kaiba yelled. The room instantly got silent again. "This is the chance for all of you to prove yourselves; not only as a duelist, but as a strategist! During this time period, there will be no class sessions, but don't think that means you're off the hook! Every single duel that you are in will be closely monitored throughout the next half a semester," Kaiba explained. "The finals will hold only eight duelists, which will be evaluated by a point system based on how well you duel. The eight duelists with the highest points will be the ones to advance onto the finals."

"Along with being placed into the finals, these points will determine what your grade for this half of the semester will be, and might just place you into a higher rank in your own classes. I know some of the schools have a different rank determination, but I will give you the basic break down here. Osiris Reds are the weakest duelists, Ra Yellow's are the well rounded duelists with decent test scores, and Obelisk Blue is for those with the best scores and best dueling records, the extraordinary duelists. Upon each new year, students advance one rank, but that doesn't mean they can't advance sooner, or be demoted back down to an inferior rank."

"Now then, here are the incentives, any duelist of Ra level or Osiris Level will gain an instant rank upgrade if they should make it to the finals! Along with that, the duelist that wins the tournament not only gets to keep their new deck, and any two cards from this Duelist Academies vault, but will earn the title of Legendary Duelist Academy Student."

"What!" Sonomi gasped from her seat.

"This will not replace any students that currently hold the title, but will add to the glory of their Duelist Academy, so you are also fighting for your academy as well. Any cards that are currently banned are removed from the banned list for this tournament, also, the winner of the tournament will not have to abide by the ban list for the cards that were kept in their deck, but any new cards later on released will be a different story. The limited and semi-limited lists are still applicable."

"For a final note, I think it's time that I elect two…eliminators," Kaiba said looking out at the audience.

"Eliminators?" Mia said a little frightened. "That sounds scary."

"These eliminators, powers will vary depending on their opponent's rank. If they face someone of an Osiris status and win, the Osiris status duelist will lose 1/4th of their entire dueling score. If they win against someone of a Ra Yellow status, the Ra duelist will lose one half of their entire score; finally, if they face someone of a Blue status or higher, such as a legend from a school, and are victorious, the Blue will lose all their points and have to start over from zero. If any duelist is successful in defeating an Eliminator, their dueling score will instantly double. An Eliminator's score will rise depending on the regular mechanics of the duel, and also by half of whatever they took from the opposing player."

"So, say the opponent is an Osiris, and they had one thousand points. That Osiris would lose 1/4th of their score, putting them at 750. The Eliminator would then the amount of points that their opponent lost, so they would gain 250. Likewise, if they took it from a Ra, they would get the 500 they took again assuming the Ra had one thousand.. Needless to say, these eliminators will be very difficult to beat. Then again, if the opponent wins, they jump up an extra 1000, putting them at 2000. So it can also be rewarding. A student does not have to challenge an eliminator, but if the eliminator challenges them, then they _must _accept, or instantly drop to zero."

"Damn, that's scary," Kokuro said shaking a little.

"Now then, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't pose a challenge for all of you," Kaiba said grinning. "So I've predetermined my eliminators, based off duelists in my academy. The first should be an obvious pick…Sonomi Hinote will be the first Eliminator!"

Sonomi was taken a bit aback, as was everyone else, but she slowly got a grin on her face, and stood up proudly, staring out at everyone who dared to stare back at her. "Sonomi's deck focuses on Fire Attribute monsters, and slowly burning away the opponent to a cinder. She's a force of nature to be reckoned with."

'Damn right,' Sonomi thought to herself.

"My next eliminator is another up and coming Ra Yellow, one whom has proven himself time and time again in this academy. He's a magician user with an attitude, and always has a trick up his sleeve to get himself out of any difficult situation. His name is Kokuro Samé, a first year who has surpassed many struggles to get where he's at."

Kokuro stood up next to Sonomi and smiled out at everyone, 'Once I saw Kaiba announce out Sonomi, I figured I'd be next,' Kokuro thought to himself. 'That way, we keep our original jobs, but he can order us to fight certain students, and they have to accept.'

'Kaiba brought all the academies together,' Sonomi thought looking out at the crowd. 'That way he can find anyone easily influenced in all the academies, not just ours. It's a clever plan.'

"As for sleeping arrangements, everyone who shares the same sort of status as Osiris Red, Ra Yellow, and Obelisk Blue will stay in the corresponding dorms here. It will be difficult for everyone here, but I expect and demand that no misconduct will happen should I have to place males with females. I will do my best to avoid this, but it may not be able to be helped. There will be much more patrol around the dorms now than ever, so I _will _know if anything is happening. Now then, Kokuro and Sonomi are to come down here to speak with me, the rest of you are all dismissed, the tournament begins tomorrow.

Everyone began filing out of the room as Kokuro and Sonomi made their way down towards the stage. They walked up to Kaiba, both impressed. "Sounds interesting," Kokuro said.

"I assume you both understand what is going on now and what this means for both of you," Kaiba said looking at the two of them.

"Yes," They replied.

"But what about Kazuki?" Kokuro asked. "Why didn't you enlist him as an Eliminator as well?"

"He didn't want to be," Kaiba informed them. "He told me he'd rather work back stage this time around. He's already guaranteed his Valedictorian spot this semester. With all of his victories and all his grades, he sees no reason to waist his talents on the front line, but rather watch the battle from afar, like a chess player, and figure out the best course of action from there."

"And you're not worried about this?" Sonomi asked.

"I can't force him to compete," Kaiba shrugged. "Especially since I know that no one in the graduating class can beat him. Besides, it's nice to know that I have such a power house waiting if I need it," Kaiba grinned. "In any case you are both dismissed now. I'll be messaging your PDA's if I have specific targets in mind, until then, feel free to challenge whom you like, and feel free to abuse your Eliminator status."

"Right!" they replied.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to finish preparations. I hope you both won't screw up."

"We won't," they promised. Kaiba nodded and walked off the stage.

"Well, that was an interesting way to finish our day," Kokuro said

"Yeah," Sonomi said agreeing.

"Want to go grab a bite to eat at 'The Simple Spot?'" Kokuro offered, "My treat?"

Sonomi turned slightly red, "Umm…sure," she said. "Sounds nice."

They walked out of the gathering hall and began heading down towards the beach. The sun was still high up in the sky, but it was getting ready to set. They walked in silence for a while, until Kokuro finally broke it. "You know, I'm really glad I met you."

"Wha…what do you mean?" Sonomi asked him.

"You have that strong stride in your step, a confidence I always lacked in myself. You're conservative, and you know how to play the game, not Duel Monsters I mean but the game of life. You take it in stride, the ups and downs, and always find the best way out of a situation. I feel that you've kind of rubbed off on me you know?" he said looking at her smiling. "I think it's what I like best about you."

Sonomi's face turned red and she had to look away as Kokuro began laughing. "It's nothing to be embarrassed of," Kokuro said between laughing. "It's a good thing."

"I…I guess you're just not the only one who learned something from our encounters," Sonomi replied. "Thanks to you, I learned how to open up to people easier. I learned to see people as a friend, as well as an opponent, and I learned how to accept a true friend for what they are. Your kindness, and your ability to almost always see the light, I think it's what I like about you the most," she said looking him in the eyes.

Kokuro stared at her, in her hazel eyes, as the cool wind blew between them. He felt himself leaning into her, and he could see her leaning into him. His eyes slowly began to close, as he got closer to her. At the last second he felt Sonomi push him to the ground. "What the?" he asked looking up at her.

"Nice try!" she said getting defensive. "I can't believe you!"

"Wha…what?" Kokuro asked looking up at her, still a little shocked.

"I know we've shared a friendly kiss before…twice even…but how dare you start sweet talking me and then go in for a true kiss!" Sonomi said glaring at him.

"I…it wasn't my intention, honest…" he said looking up at her almost begging. "I just…sort of…felt like it was right, in that instant." He stopped before getting on the defensive "And you felt it too! You started to lean into me as well!"

"I lost my balance," Sonomi said staring down at him. Her hand quivered momentarily before she clenched it, to hide her shaking, "but…if you're truly sorry, I guess I can forgive you this once." She held out her hand and he took it.

Sonomi helped him up, and he looked at her with a blush all across his face, "I really am sorry."

She stared at him out of the corner of her eyes, and saw that he looked truly sorry, and a change came over her. She felt sorry for him, "It's…alright." She said looking at him. "I just…I get the feeling that…well, you have some feelings for me."

That statement put Kokuro on the defensive, "No!" he said shaking his head and his hands rapidly. "You're an amazing friend and all, it's just…I know it wouldn't work. I mean…what I mean is…umm, it's…"

Sonomi put her finger to his mouth, "Stop." Kokuro silenced himself and she pulled her finger away. "Kokuro, you're an amazing friend, I wouldn't trade you for the world, honestly. It's just…you're not exactly my type."

"…Right, yeah, that's what I was going for," Kokuro said.

"We may have learned from each other, but…I'm just too uptight, I'll admit it, and you're too carefree! It's a dangerous combination, we'd kill each other."

"…yeah…" Kokuro nodded, looking down. "It's funny, I never really truly thought of the possibility of you and me going out. I mean, it's crossed my mind whenever Mia joked around about it, but I never truly took it seriously you know? But now…it just feels, wrong."

"Us being together?" Sonomi asked him.

Kokuro stood there looking at the ground, before he turned his head to the ocean, "No…us being apart."

Sonomi's eyes widened, but she slowly thought about his words, "Listen, we'll never be apart that much I can promise you. We'll always stay friends, but I can't promise you anything other than friendship. The simple fact is, well, I don't love you."

Kokuro's expression fell, and he looked at the grass, "Right, I'm not even sure I loved you, at least not like that."

"I love you for the friend you are," Sonomi said, "but besides that…I can't say there's anything there."

"Right," Kokuro said. He looked up smiling, "It's like you said, we would kill each other. Our personalities clash waaaay too much. Besides, the thought of us living together scares the crap out of me.

"Yeah," she said staring at him. "Listen, I think it would be best if we kept apart for a couple days, give ourselves a chance to shake this off."

"Alright, sounds good," Kokuro said though she could hear the sadness in his voice.

"Hey, you can always pay my way next time," she said walking away.

"For what?" he asked and then remembered their dinner plans. "Right," he said sadly and walked off back towards 'The Simple Spot.' He was still hungry, and didn't want to miss out on dinner. As he walked towards the restaurant he thought about what almost happened; what would have happened if he hadn't tried to kiss her; and what would have happened if he had succeeded.

As Sonomi walked back to the dorm, she had some similar thoughts. She thought about how Kokuro almost kissed her, and changed their friendship forever; and how she pushed him down to avoid it. She began cursing at herself.

* * *

Kokuro turned around and continued to head towards 'The Simple Spot.' Kokuro pulled out his PDA and began typing a message to Ami. '_I'm sure it's busy over there but can you save a table for one?'_

He got a message back a few minutes later. '_Ha ha you're funny.'_

'That's not a good sign,' he thought looking down at it. Then another message came in from her, '_I'll see what I can do.'_ "At least she's trying," Kokuro said smiling. He got there a couple of minutes later and stared in horror at the line that was waiting outside. It looked like he would have to wait over two hours. "I guess it's a good thing that Sonomi didn't stick around," he said looking at everyone. Suddenly his PDA went off. He opened it and looked at the message.

'_Come to the back of the building,'_ was her reply. "That's odd," he said putting away the PDA but he shrugged it off and walked back around the side of the building. He saw there was an open door and he walked through it. He came face to face with Sariana.

"Hi…" he said startled. "Umm…you're probably wondering why I'm back here…"

"Nope," Sariana said looking down at him. "Ami told me to let you in," she explained. "Follow me." Kokuro shrugged and he followed her to another door which had a set of steps leading downstairs. They walked down the steps, and arrived at a platform with two Duel Disks sitting on them.

Sariana walked over to the platform and stood on top of it. She took a duel disk with a purple border and inserted it. Kokuro walked over to it and looked down at the Duel Disk laying there. "Let me guess, I have to duel you for an open table?" Kokuro said picking it up and putting it on.

"Nope," she said smiling. She pulled a remote out of her pocket and pressed it. The platform began to rise up and the ceiling above them began to open. "We're making it look as if you're entertainment," she said as the platform continued to rise. "Oh, but first…" she took the Medallion around Kokuro's neck and stuck it inside his uniform."

"What's that for!" Kokuro demanded looking down at where the Medallion had just been.

"That thing looked tacky," Sariana explained.

"But I like it!" Kokuro objected.

"I don't care, if you want people to take you seriously as an Eliminator, you can't look tacky…speaking of Eliminators, where's Sonomi?"

Kokuro's expression changed, "I…don't really want to talk about it right now."

"Fair enough," Sariana said as the platform rose all the way up. Kokuro looked around to see that he was in the Dueling Cage of the Simple Spot. "Hmm," she said glancing down at Kokuro. "Now not only are you guaranteed a table afterwards but I get my duel with you."

Kokuro looked around to see not only regular Duelist Academy students, but students from the other academies. They were all looking out at him eagerly, awaiting a chance to see his deck. "Umm, I'm not sure I should do this…" Kokuro said worriedly.

"Come on," Sariana said winking at him. "Act like an Eliminator already, say something tough, fake your way through this." She began walking towards her side of the arena, and Kokuro began walking over to his.

"Can you believe he's revealing his deck?" he heard from the audience.

"He must be an idiot," another student said.

"Or maybe it's all a set up," another said.

'Part of being a convincing magician is how well you can act,' Kokuro thought to himself. He pulled out his deck, and looked down at it, flipping through it cautiously. He smiled and slid it into his Duel Disk. "I'm dueling her right now because I know that the deck I've created is the best in the room, and I won't hear any lip from any of you!" Kokuro called out as his Duel Disk folded out. A moment of silence hit the arena before everyone began cheering.

"Now that's a good attitude," one student said.

"A tough guy eh?" one girl said. "I can dig that kind of confidence."

"Well, I suppose it'll be pretty embarrassing if you lose then," Sariana said smirking as she slid in her deck and her Duel Disk folded out.

'Yeah it will…' Kokuro thought laughing at himself nervously, but he kept his composure. "I won't," he declared.

"Prove it then," Sariana demanded.

"Let's duel!" they called out, their Life Points rose to the new set of 4000. The lights in the restaurant dimmed and dark red and blue lights shined on the arena. On top of the ceiling was a security camera that zoomed in on the duel that was about to start.

* * *

In the dark room, the mysterious man sat on his throne, watching a television set to the hotwired security camera in 'The Simple Spot.' It zoomed in on Kokuro momentarily before going to a regular aerial view. "Peaches says his heart is too pure to join us; that is impossible…" the man sighed heavily and looked at the screen. "Everyone has darkness in their hearts, and those without it have something more," he sighed again and continued watching the screen. "As long as there is darkness, one can be…coerced into joining me."

* * *

"Since there's no chance of you winning, I'll let you go first," Kokuro said confidently. 'Heh…this is kinda fun…'

"Very well then," Sariana said drawing her six cards. 'Heh, if he wants to toy with me acting all tough, I'll throw the toying right back at him.' "I'll summon Dark Blade!" She announced as the warrior in dark black armor appeared on the field. (1800/1500) "That will end my turn,"

"Draw," Kokuro said confidently as he drew his sixth card. He looked down at his hand and smiled. 'Awesome, I've already drawn one of my new favorite combos.' "I'll begin by summoning this!" he called out as he slapped the card onto the disk. A Hexagram appeared on the field, and from it a rose a dark purple and blue dog like creature with sharp fangs and a menacing growl. (1400/1400) "Meet the Mythical Beast Cerberus!" Kokuro announced.

"I thought you only ran monsters with 'Magician' in their name," Sariana said quizzically.

"The majority of my monsters are still Magician titled, but I've added some of their assistants to the deck, along with a personal favorite non-magician titled monster,' Kokuro said smiling as Kuriboh appeared on his shoulder crying out before vanishing. "Now then, I'll activate this," he said sliding a card into his Duel Disk. "Go Burden of the Mighty!"

"What is that?" Sariana asked.

"It's a _very _handy continuous spell card," Kokuro said grinning. "Every one of your face up monsters loses one hundred attack points for each level your monster has."

"No way!" Sariana gasped as her Dark Blade's armor seemed heavier to the warrior, and he began shaking a little. (1400/?) "Now our monsters are tied!"

"Not so," Kokuro corrected. "You see, for each spell card activated, Cerberus gains a spell counter, and for each spell counter, he gains 500 attack points!" Cerberus howled as he began to glow. (1900/1400) "Cerberus, attack!" Cerberus gathered a ball of light energy in his mouth from the Hexagram underneath him and fired it as a beam of light energy that hit the Dark Blade destroying it.

Kokuro: 4000/Sariana: 3500

"Now, since Cerberus attacked, he loses that spell counter, bringing him back down to his original attack power," Kokuro explained as Cerberus stopped glowing. (1400/1400) Kokuro grinned but quickly remembered he was supposed to be acting like an eliminator and added as an afterthought, "I'll throw this under the table and end my turn. I knew you couldn't withstand the power of an eliminator."

"We'll see about that," Sariana said drawing. "The duel is still young." She looked down at her hand and mentally sighed. 'However, my original plan to toy with him won't work any longer, that Burden of the Mighty is a real pain. I have to go full force here,' she took a card from her hand and activated it. "I activate Fusion Sage, this gives me the ability to search for Fusion!" She took out her deck and searched until she found her spell card.

"And that gives Cerberus a Spell Counter," Kokuro said as Cerberus began glowing and his attack power rose. (1900/1400)

"No matter, cause I'm activating Fusion now!" Sariana declared as the spell card appeared. Cerberus absorbed some of the fusion power and gained more attack points. (2400/1400) "I'm fusing the two Cyber Ogres in my hand," Sariana explained, "to form Cyber Ogre 2!" she announced as a large metallic ogre appeared on the field, glaring at Cerberus with its robotic eyes. (2600/1900)

"An impressive monster, maybe even deadly, if it weren't for Burden of the Mighty," Kokuro said mocking. "Burden, weaken her Cyber Ogre!" Kokuro commanded as the spell card began to shine, as did Cyber Ogre. "Your Ogre is a seven star monster, so seven hundred points are gone," Kokuro announced. (1900/1900)

"So they are," Sariana said grinning. "Attack Cerberus anyway!"

"What!" Kokuro gasped as mechanical wires came flying out of Cyber Ogre 2, attaching themselves to Cerberus. "Explain yourself, what's the meaning of this?"

"Whenever Cyber Ogre 2 attacks, it gains half the attack of the monster it's attacking," Sariana explained. "Making it stronger than Cerberus!"

Kokuro clenched his fist and looked at his down card, 'If I protect Cerberus, I'll put her on the defensive, better make her lose her guard.' Kokuro watched as Cyber Ogre 2 gained power, (3100/1900) and then fired an electrical blast at the caught Cerberus, destroying it instantly. The rest of the blast went on to hit Kokuro, but he was un-phased.

Kokuro:3300/Sariana:3500

"That ends my turn," Sariana said smirking as her Cyber Ogre lowered in strength. (1900/1900)

"My move," Kokuro said drawing. He added the card to his hand and selected another monster, "I summon Royal Magical Library to the field in attack mode!" Kokuro announced as a large shelf of books with lanterns on it appeared on his side of the field. (0/2000)

"Attack mode?" Sariana asked skeptically. "Even with my weakened monster, that thing can't do anything…unless."

"Unless I'm going to do this turn what I could have last," Kokuro announced. "Reverse down card!" he announced as the spell card flipped up. "Magical Dimenison!" Kokuro called out. "Now I sacrifice my Library!" he announced as the shelf of books vanished, "And I special summon the Black Magician Girl!" he announced placing her card on the field as the blue robed female magician appeared on the field twirling and winking. (2000/1700)

"So he really does have the real magicians," Some of the unfamiliar students said.

"The famous magicians once used by Yugi Mouto himself, I honestly thought he had some of the more common ones."

"Of course he has the true magicians," Ami who had been watching the duel in between helping customers said looking out at him. "I wouldn't have made him my sensei if he didn't have a powerful deck with the real deal in it."

Back on the duel field, Kokuro was continuing on with his move, "The secondary power of Magical Dimension now activates, allowing me to destroy a monster!" Kokuro announced. "Say goodbye to Cyber Ogre 2!" Kokuro announced as the golden sarcophagus appeared behind Cyber Ogre 2. It trapped the machine in it and then exploded. When the smoke cleared, Sariana was wide open. "Black Magician Girl, Burning Magic Attack!" Kokuro called out.

Black Magician Girl pointed her staff at Sariana, and a dark pink beam of magical energy jumped from it striking Sariana down.

Kokuro: 3300/Sariana: 1500

'Heh, Sonomi would have loved to see that move,' Kokuro thought looking at Sariana. 'Sonomi…'

"Impressive," Sariana said standing up.

'I have to get her out of my mind,' Kokuro said shaking his head. "I end my turn."

"My move," Sariana announced. "I've drawn Pot of Greed, which I'll activate now," she announced drawing two cards. "Now I'll activate MST, blowing away Burden of the Mighty once and for all!" she announced as a typhoon came ripping through the field destroying Kokuro's spell. "Now, I'll also activate Swing of Memories, allowing me to revive one normal monster from my grave for this turn only," Sariana announced as Dark Blade returned to the field. (1800/1500) "And once again I'll activate Fusion! A combination of Dark Blade and Pitch-Dark Dragon this time!"

A small black dragon appeared on the field which Dark Blade quickly jumped onto, mounting it. (2200/1500) "Behold, Dark Blade the Dragon Knight!" Sariana announced. "Dark Blade Knight, destroy Black Magician Girl!

The Dark Blade Knight flew down and slashed the Magician Girl destroying her, he then took a sickle and threw it at Kokuro's Duel Disk, pulling out Cerberus and the Library. "When Dark Blade Knight does damage to you, he can remove up to three monsters from your grave.

Kokuro: 3100/Sariana: 1500

"My turn is done."

"My move!" Kokuro announced drawing. "I'll set a monster on guard and activate Card Destruction!" A horizontal brown card appeared on Kokuro's side of the field. They each then threw out their hands and redrew the same number of cards they had, for Kokuro that was only one. 'This is no help to me right now.' "Turn end."

"My move!" Sariana announced drawing. "And what luck, I discard one Thunder Dragon in my hand, to pull out two more from my deck," she said as she pulled out her deck and searched for two more after sending Thunder Dragon to the grave. "And while I have my deck out, I'll also discard King of the Swamp so I can pull out my final Fusion," she said also taking Fusion. "Three guesses as to what I do next!" she smirked sliding in Fusion. The two dragons appeared on the field before spiraling together to create the orange Twin Headed Thunder Dragon. (2800/2100) "Dark Blade Knight, strike down his defender!" Sariana commanded.

Dark Blade Knight flew down and met sword with staff against Skilled Black Magician, (1900/1700) knocking the staff from the magicians hand and easily slaying it.

'No…' Kokuro thought.

"He's in for it now," a student said.

"This is pathetic," the one girl that complimented him earlier said.

"Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, Direct Attack!" The Dragon released a powerful lightning blast from its horn blasting Kokuro, bringing him to his knees.

Kokuro: 300/Sariana: 1500

Sariana looked at Kokuro and thought back to when they were on the platform. 'I think this might be a good time…' she thought smirking at him. "How pathetic is that?" she asked looking at him. "I guess you should be glad that Sonomi's not here to see this. She'd either be devastated, or she'd be embarrassed."

"Stop it!" Kokuro shouted at her.

'It's working,' Sariana grinned. 'I don't want to mess him up mentally, but I'm a duelist and I have to use any trick I can to win, and if he makes foolish plays due to distraction then it's his own fault. And if I beat Kaiba's star pupil then he'll be all over me,' she thought and laughed wildly to herself.

Kokuro stood up as thoughts of Sonomi came rushing into his head, and the pride he had to hold up being an Eliminator. "It doesn't matter what she thinks!" 'Come on Kokuro, get a hold of yourself,' he tried to tell himself. 'Just block Sonomi from your memory.' Kuriboh appeared on Kokuro's shoulder calling out to him. "Not right now Kuriboh," he said brushing it off his shoulder.

"Bingo," Sariana muttered to himself. 'I've got him so worked up right now he's talking to monsters that aren't there. I don't know what's going on between those two, but I can use it to put a little fun back into this duel. "You can stand there having a discussion with yourself all day if you'd like, but right now it's your move."

"Draw!" he called out looking down at his card. "Pot of Greed!" he announced drawing two cards. He looked at the fOld Mage and Torrential Tribute he had drawn, and the Revive Dead that was already in his hand. "I'll set one on guard and one under the table, end turn!"

"My move," Sariana chimed happily. "Looks like I win, Thunder Dragon, destroy his monster!" Thunder Dragon shot a blast of lightning at the Old Mage that was on the field. The Old Mage had just enough time to fire off a full power blast at Dark Blade Knight destroying it instantly.

"My Old Vindictive Magician has destroyed your Dark Blade, you haven't won yet."

"Oh, but I will, and then, oh how embarrassed Sonomi will be," Sariana chimed. "You won't be able to show your sorry excuse for an eliminator face around her ever again. Guess there's nothing to do but end my turn.'

'Sonomi…' Kokuro thought thinking back to her.

_Sonomi's eyes widened, but she slowly thought about his words, "Listen, we'll never be apart that much I can promise you. We'll always stay friends, but I can't promise you anything other than friendship. The simple fact is, well, I don't love you."_

'Sonomi…doesn't love me…it shouldn't come as a surprise…I mean, I'm not even in love with her…' Kokuro thought. 'But why can't I stop thinking about it!' he yelled at himself.

"This is pathetic," one of the students said.

"At least he'll be easy to defeat," another said.

'And now these guys…doubting me…' Kokuro thought. 'Maybe they're right, maybe I don't have what it takes…' He looked down at his deck. "I have to win," he said growling. "I will win!" He declared drawing his card, as he heard the sound of Kuriboh call out from his deck. He turned it over and sure enough there it was. "Revive Dead…and Kuriboh…nothing that will really help me,' he thought looking helplessly at his cards.

"Look at him, he looks scared," the girl said. "And that one girl over there calls him her master," she said to her friends pointing back at Ami laughing.

Kokuro looked over at Ami, who looked down. 'Great, and now she's there. She probably thinks I'm pathetic also…'

"Kokuro…" Ami said slowly. "Is this what it means to be an Eliminator…having to face this abuse?"

"It's not abuse if he sucks," a student said. "You know who will really be embarrassed, Kaiba for choosing such a loser." The group around the student began laughing.

'Their taunts are really getting to me…' Kokuro thought side glancing at the people in the audience.

"Come on, Sonomi would have already made a move by now," Sariana said bored.

"And Sonomi…" Kokuro thought. 'It's all too much…I just…I just…have to let it all go!' He yelled in his mind. "I can still win this!" he screamed. He fell to the ground, clutching his heart.

"What a loser," the students mocked.

"Heh, he's standing up," another said. "I wonder what kind of pathetic move he'll make."

'Heh, he's got nothing,' Sariana thought to herself. 'Truly sorry Kokuro, but I'm not giving up for you.'

Kokuro was slowly standing up, his fists were clenched, and he was slowly chuckling to himself. "I'm a loser eh?" he said out to the crowd.

A shudder came over Sariana as she looked out at Kokuro, 'What the heck? What was that about?'

"We'll see about that," he looked up at Sariana, his eyes became red, and he started smirking. Kuriboh let out a violent shudder before shattering into pieces.

The sudden change in his eyes made Sariana jump back slightly, 'These lights sure make him look creepy when he's angry,' Sariana thought a little frightened.

"I don't care what any of you say, none of it matters to me as long as I accomplish my goals!" he yelled out. "I summon Kuriboh!" he called out as the small brown monster appeared on the field. "And I chain with Torrential Tribute!" he called out as his trap lifted. A surge of water came from out of his card and first destroyed Kuriboh, shattering it instantly, as well as the Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon.

* * *

In the Ra Yellow cafeteria, Sonomi and Mia were having a calm dinner, talking about old times, when suddenly a jolt went through both their hearts. They clenched their chests, and heard their Kuriboh's cry out in pain.

"What…what is this?" Sonomi asked Mia.

"Something's wrong with Kokuro…" Mia replied, tears rolling down her face. "Where is he?"

"He was headed to 'The Simple Spot,' when I left him," Sonomi said, gasping for breath.

"Let's go! We need to find him!" Mia exclaimed.

"I…I can't," Sonomi said almost ashamed of herself. "Seeing me at this point will only hurt him more."

"Well I'm not going to let him go it alone!" she yelled as she dashed out of the cafeteria.

Sonomi watched her, and clutched her chest, a tear rolling down her face.

* * *

In the dark room, the man was looking at the television screen, and gasped when he saw the red in Kokuro's eyes. "That…that's…" he said with awe in his voice. The figure slowly calmed himself, "So _that's _why he's so pure…it all makes sense now." The man's eyes glowed red momentarily before returning to normal, the same kind of eerie red Kokuro's were now. "I should definitely be able to use this to my advantage," the man chuckled. "It's as I said, those without darkness have something far worse."

* * *

The flooding stopped, and Kokuro glared at Sariana, "My move isn't done yet," he growled. "I also have Revive Dead!" he said sliding the card into his disk.

"You…you can revive Black Magician Girl now and win!" Sariana gasped.

"I could, but I want you to squirm when I destroy you with your own monster," Kokuro grinned. "Revive, Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon!" the ground around Kokuro began shining as the orange dragon came bursting out of the ground, roaring loudly. Kokuro smirked viciously, "Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, wipe out Sariana with your Shock Wave Surge!" The Dragon's horns began to gather electricity as its mouth created a ball of lightning. "Fire!" Kokuro commanded as the lightning was shot out of its mouth and struck Sariana down instantly, causing her to scream.

Kokuro: 300/Sariana: 0

The lights returned to normal, but Kokuro's eyes were still glowing red. He slowly began walking towards her as the holograms vanished. Everyone in the audience, except for Ami, all began cheering for the come from behind victory.

"I guess he really is an Eliminator," the one girl said smirking.

"You said it," her friends around her said.

"Kokuro…" Ami gasped in horror. "What…what's wrong?"

Kokuro bent down next to Sariana, who was shaking. He leaned down into her ear and said. "Thanks for the great duel." The anger was gone from his voice. She turned to look at him, and found herself staring at his green eyes. "It was a lot of fun," he extended his hand.

"What happened to you out there?" she asked.

"You told me to act like an Eliminator remember?" he said to her. "I thought I did a good job," he said pouting. "I was all, 'I'm the greatest, no one can beat me,' I thought I really carried the act."

"I mean with your eyes!" she hissed.

"What do you mean?" he asked confused.

"They were all red and glowy."

Kokuro thought about what happened and his smiling face turned to one of horror, "My…eyes went red?" he asked.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"It…must have…"

"What?" Sariana asked.

"Been…"

"What!" she cried out desperately.

"The lighting!" he said laughing.

"Huh?" she asked.

He helped her up, "Please, people's eyes don't just turn red, not unless you're an Uchiha," he chuckled at his own stupid joke. "Anyway, thanks again for the duel," he shook her hand, and then exited the cage. 

His smile dissolved into one of worry. 'Damn it…' he swore at himself. He saw an open booth next to the arena and took his seat. Ami soon came over to him.

"What happened to you?" she asked horrified when she got there. "You got really vicious!"

"It was all an act," he said laughing. "Now, how about some food, I'm starved."

"That couldn't have been an act, you're not that mean!" Ami insisted.

"So by your logic, I'm not that mean, meaning it _had _to be an act. Right?" He grinned knowing he had her.

"I…suppose so," she said stuck for words. He gave her his order, and she went off to go get it.

Kokuro looked down at his hand after she left, it wasn't shaking, and he was completely calm. He growled at himself for a moment when Mia suddenly burst through the door pushing many customers out of the way. She looked around until she saw him and ran to Kokuro's table.

"There you are!" Mia cried once she got to him.

"What's up?" he asked looking at her.

'You're…alright?" Mia asked looking at him suspiciously.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" he asked.

"There was a jolt of pain that ripped through our hearts and the pain the Kuriboh's went through!"

"Pain through the heart?" Kokuro asked worriedly.

"Yeah, like you were suddenly pulled from this world," Mia explained. "Like you had been…"

"Been what?" he asked.

"Killed…" she silently spoke.

Kokuro's mouth opened slightly, as if to ponder how to respond, he then gave them a small smile "Well, I'm obviously alive right now," he said chuckling. "Look, I'm fine," he said reassuring his friend. "As far as the Kuriboh's go, it was probably because I had to use Torrential Tribute while Kuriboh was on the field. But he's fine now," he said looking over at his shoulder as Kuriboh reappeared on it. "Right Cinnamon Ol' buddy?"

Kuriboh called out at him, and shuddered a little. "Not you too!" Kokuro sighed. "We're fine." He pet the Kuriboh and then gave it a small hug.

"Kuri Kuri," Kuriboh said looking him over. "Kuri!" it said relaxed, not sensing anything wrong, it vanished.

"See, everything's fine," Kokuro said smiling at them. "No worries."

"All…all right," she said. "We'll see you back at the dorm then," Mia said. She started walking off, "By the way…"

"Yeah?"

"What happened between you and Sonomi?" She waited for a response. She couldn't see it, but she had a feeling that his expression had dropped, which it had. "I won't push," she said after a moment and left.

Kokuro turned back to the table as the students started coming up to him and asking him questions, he answered them, but felt nothing but emptiness inside.

* * *

Later on that evening Kokuro had to reassure not only Mia, but Sonomi, once again that he was fine, and that absolutely nothing was wrong. "Look, maybe you both just ate something bad at lunch," he said. "And it gave you heartburn."

"Then what about the Kuribohs?" Mia asked.

"Again, I had to hurt Kuriboh. I apologized to him during dinner though, and he forgives me."

"Maybe you're right," Sonomi said. "Still, that pain felt much more horrible than anything I've ever felt before."

"I…I can't give you an explanation," he said.

"I'm going to step outside for a little bit, get some fresh air."

"Alright," Kokuro and Mia said as she headed out the door. "Well, I'm going to bed," Kokuro said taking his night clothes, "Don't wake me when you get back please, I'm tired." He took his clothes into the bathroom and shut the door.

Sonomi went outside the dorm room, watching as all the new students tried to find their new dorm rooms. 'We were going to have to split up this semester, since a couple of Ra's moved onto Obelisk Blue,' Sonomi thought watching the students. 'They could have finally put Kokuro into a boy's room at the very least. But with all these new students, he's had to stay with us. I'm was glad about that, but after what happened today, I'm not so sure.'

She pushed her back against the wall and slid down it, wrapping her arms around her knees. 'I'm not ready for him to leave the dorm room yet, but how can I face him right now, after what happened?' She sat in silence, 'Still, I'm sort of glad he's not leaving just yet. It just seems wrong.'

"_It's funny, I never really truly thought of the possibility of you and me going out. I mean, it's crossed my mind whenever Mia joked around about it, but I never truly took it seriously you know? But now…it just feels, wrong."_

"_Us being together?" Sonomi asked him._

_Kokuro stood there looking at the ground, before he turned his head to the ocean, "No…us being apart."_

'I get what he was talking about now,' Sonomi thought to herself. 'But I'm not in love with him! I know I'm not!' She sighed, folded her legs towards her stomach, and buried her head into her arms, 'but why does that feel wrong also?'

* * *

_Kokuro was in the land of swirling sand. The planets were in different positions now, as if they were leaving the alignment. He was in the same outfit as before, and the girl he had been with the last time was with him again. "You are so much like him, you know that?" she asked him._

"_Who?" he asked._

"_Mercury," she replied._

"_Yes, I know that's who I'm supposed…I mean, who I am," he answered._

"_No, that's who you're like Kokuro," the girl said._

"_Wait, what?" Kokuro asked startled. "You know who I am now?" he asked her._

"_Well, we've finally truly connected, I can tell the difference. The last time we met like this, yours and Mercury's souls connected together, it made it harder to tell the difference." She stared at him, "You are different though, even though you both have so many of the same aspects, there is one major difference."_

"_What's that?" Kokuro asked._

"_Mercury was never haunted," she replied._

"_By a girl who only talked to him in his sleep?" Kokuro asked laughing._

"_No…by a curse," she said glaring at him._

"_What?" he asked. "How did you…" Suddenly the world around him grew dark. He looked around, and heard screaming. He rushed to where the screaming was, and saw himself, as a young child, and saw Selaya, even younger than he was, caught in the arms of a big man. "This…this is…" Kokuro said, his hands and arms shaking. Suddenly he was the small child, and he could hear sounds going through his head._

"_Kokuro help me!" Selaya's voice called out._

_Gun shots sounded._

_Kokuro felt himself fall._

_His vision saw the ceiling of his house, and the world spinning around him. He felt his body crash into the floor._

_Darkness._

_Glowing red Eyes emerged from the darkness._

"_Shall we make a deal?"_

_Kokuro's vision cleared and he was lying in a hospital bed. The window was open, and the curtain was drawn, allowing sunshine to pour into the room. He looked over to the side to see Selaya resting in the chair next to his hospital bed. She hadn't left his side once. 'I'm…glad you're safe…' he thought looking at her._

'_Do not forget…' a sinister voice said in his mind, as his vision darkened._

"_Kokuro…Kokuro!" a voice said reaching him from the darkness._

'_Mom…dad?' Kokuro wondered._

"_Kokuro!" the voices said again._

"_No…that's…"_

Kokuro slowly woke up; his eyes were glowing red for only a moment, before returning to normal. "Who the hell activated a Duel Disk?" Sonomi wondered looking outside.

Kokuro looked up, to see he had fallen out of bed onto the floor, and was facing the window. Sonomi and Mia were both looking down at him. "Are you alright?" Mia asked.

"Yeah…" he said looking up. "Guess that explains the falling and the feeling of crashing into the ground," Kokuro said rubbing his head.

"What do you mean?" Sonomi asked.

"Just a bad dream is all," Kokuro said shaking it off. "I'm fine now." he smiled to reassure them.

"Bad dream my ass," Sonomi said getting angry. "It was like there was an entire gravity field around you."

"Gravity field?" Kokuro asked.

"There was a lot of pressure in the room," Mia explained. "It didn't go away until you woke up."

"Weird coincidence," Kokuro said sitting up.

"It was no coincidence," Sonomi said looking at him. "Something's going on and as your best friends we have the right to know what it is."

"I told you, it was a bad dream, that's all," Kokuro said standing up; he went to the closet and grabbed a uniform.

"Where are you going?" Sonomi demanded.

"I need to go outside in order to get my mind off it, it's what I always do when I have bad dreams, otherwise I hyper focus on them and can't fall back to sleep." Kokuro got changed and started heading out the door.

"Kokuro wait!" Sonomi said jumping up and grabbing his hand.

"What?" Kokuro asked staring at her.

"Just know…you can tell us anything, any time," she held on to his hand firmly. "We'll always listen, we're your friends, and we'll help in any way we can."

Kokuro stopped, and a smile appeared on his face, "Thanks, I appreciate it. I truly do, more than you'll ever know." He rubbed her hand, enjoying her soft feeling, before releasing himself from her grasp. "But I'm afraid even if something were wrong, at the moment I wouldn't want to burden you with my problems."

"But…" she started.

"It's as you said, we need to separate ourselves right now. So get back to sleep, I'll be back shortly."

* * *

He left the dorm and started heading towards the Obelisk Blue female dorm. He pulled out his PDA and typed a message to Akuma, telling her to meet him outside.

Once he crossed the lake to the girls dorm, he waited outside the dorm until Akuma came out. "What is it?" she yawned. "I was trying to sleep."

"I need your help," Kokuro said seriously looking at her.

Akuma listened intently to what Kokuro had to say, and then sighed when he was done. "Unfortunately, that goes beyond how I can help. I can loan books, and advice, but that…you need a different female from Obelisk Blue for that."

"Who?" Kokuro asked.

"Hang on, I'll get her," Akuma said walking back into the dorm. Kokuro walked around in circles bored for a good ten minutes before Akuma came back out. "Alright, I found her."

Kokuro watched as a girl in white robes walked out, staring at Kokuro with a tired, yet concerned look. "Kokuro, if anyone can help you it'll be her."

She walked over to Kokuro and shook his hand, "It's nice to finally meet you Kokuro; my name is Seirei."

* * *

Sonomi: Urg, what's that noise? I'm trying to get back to sleep.

Mia: Sounds like there's some action down at the Obelisk Blue Female's Dorm.

Sonomi: You mean a duel?

Mia: What Else?

Sonomi: That two timing son of a jackal!

Mia: What's with the Aladdin reference?

Sonomi: Blame poor writing.

Mia: Next Episode, Kokuro Vs. The Spiritual Priestess.

Sonomi: First he runs off for another girl, and then he makes this entire racket! Mia, get me my ear plugs.

* * *

Kokuro: Today's featured card is…Mythical Beast Cerberus. 1400 attack and 1400 defense. When spells are activated, this dog gains an additional 500 attack points! I'm sure glad he's not my opponent!


	48. Kokuro Vs The Spiritual Priestess

Sdrive: Let's get this show on the road.

* * *

A calm evening breeze blew across the lake in front of the Obelisk Blue Female Dorm. The wind rippled, and the grass on the ground waved. The moon was out, and the stars could be seen with exceptional clarity. Three Duelist Academy students stood outside of the dorm, the wind rustled the hair of Kokuro, who was staring at a girl in white robes, "So…you're Seirei?" he asked.

Seirei's robes flowed in the wind, along with her hair, "Yes," she said nodding. "I must admit, when Akuma first came to get me, I was not happy to see her," Akuma rolled her eyes, "but once she told me the situation, I got ready as fast as I could."

"We're not exactly on the best terms," Akuma told Kokuro. "You know of my past, so you know of my Duel Spirits, however Seirei is a priestess, and she deals with the spiritual world on the side of light. She believes that because of my connections to spirits I could be helpful, but tat she should first exorcise the Archfiend's from my spirit."

"I see," Kokuro nodded. "Sounds like you're on opposite ends of the spectrum."

"What's this world without a little chaos?" Akuma asked.

"A much nicer place to live," Seirei muttered.

"Enough!" Kokuro yelled.

"Someone's grumpy," Akuma said backing off.

"I'm sorry, I'm just nervous. Did you tell Seirei my problem?"

"Every word," Akuma guaranteed.

"And it is troubling," Seirei admitted; "Obviously a bigger threat to our world than Akuma's Archfiends."

"I've told you before, they're my guardians," Akuma said calmly, but irritated.

"You do not need such demons as guardians," Seirei said. "You could do so much more good with lighter spirits."

"I'm happy with my guardians," Akuma said.

"Oh for the love," Kokuro said watching them.

"Such creatures hardly deserve to be called guardians," Seirei stated.

"At least they can get the job that needs done accomplished!" Akuma shot back. "Your spirits constantly…"

Kokuro watched the two bicker on and off until a thought came to him. "Heh," he chuckled.

"What?" Akuma asked.

"Just looking not only at the way you both dress, but at your views, it's like looking at a battle between Yin and Yang," Kokuro said looking between the two of them. "It's quite amusing actually."

Seirei looked from Akuma to Kokuro before smiling sadly, "I suppose that is true. Opposites do attract. Now please, your situation; how frequently does it occur?"

"Very rarely," Kokuro explained. "The incident with my sister, obviously, I think once after that, and the most recent occurrence was during a duel today. I had a lot on my mind, and couldn't focus, and with the constant downgrading of everyone around me…"

"It was the perfect trigger," Akuma said nodding. "Makes sense."

"Umm, a quick a side," Kokuro said turning to Seirei. "Kazuki once mentioned a Seirei that gave him a ritual monster, are you the same Seirei or is this just a coincidence?"

"I am the same one," Seirei nodded. "I am also one of the background students watching over the Booster Draft Tournament."

"Should we really be talking about that right now," Kokuro asked.

Seirei turned to Akuma and sighed, "I tried to use it as a way to show her that if she was more in tune with the light aspect of the world, maybe Master Kaiba would have picked her instead of me, this just caused her to go to Kaiba and now she's working with us."

"So you let the cat out of the bag and she ended up getting a free ride," Kokuro summed up.

"If you wish to put it like that, then yes," Seirei said slightly embarrassed.

"Heh," Kokuro chuckled again. "It was probably just fate," Kokuro shrugged. "The whole Yin and Yang thing, you two are probably meant to constantly clash forces, but help each other out at the same time."

"I didn't think you believed in fate," Seirei said to him. "From everything I've heard you don't think things are predetermined."

"Well, with my experience, I tend not to think so, but then again, I'm an exception."

"Aren't we all," Akuma said looking at them. "The world chooses certain people to bare unbearable burdens, and 'rewards' them with great powers. They can cheat fate, and at the same time their entire life is controlled by it. Everything they do, say, and experience, is all a part of fate. One might say that we can cheat a fate that might normally get us killed, but in the end it's because of fate that we weren't. We're the biggest players of the world, yet we're also the biggest pawns."

"Our glass can't be half empty or half full, because we are the glass. We carry the burdens of the world inside of us, only to have them taken away by a bigger, more powerful being. And if that being ever decides he doesn't need us, he can crush us, and take it all away. We can't act on our own, yet it's our instincts that save everyone." Akuma finished looking at the two, "Confusing, but true."

"I think I understood," Kokuro said nodding.

"Let's see if we can't do anything about your fate," Seirei said pulling her hidden arm out of her robe to reveal a Duel Disk.

"You want to have a duel?" Kokuro asked.

"Yes," Seirei nodded. "I truly believe that a duel is like a door to a person's soul, their deck contains their emotions, their thoughts, their fears, and their happiness. The people who throw away their souls for power, they are the ones we will be watching for during the Booster Draft Tournament."

"I have my deck, but I don't have a duel disk," Kokuro said looking at his wrist.

"Close your eyes, and envision your Duel Disk," Seirei said to him. "Then take your deck and slide it onto your wrist, as if you were sliding it into your disk."

"What? Is that like supposed to summon my Duel Disk or something?" Kokuro asked.

"Just do it, and have faith," Seirei said.

Kokuro shrugged, and closed his eyes, thinking about his duel disk. He held up his arm, as if he were about to insert his deck. As he reached for his deck, a light began glowing on his arm. He pulled out his deck, and slid it onto his wrist like he normally would. He heard a latch, and opened his eyes to see that his deck was sitting in the deck port of his Duel Disk. "How in the…"

"The spirits of the Spirit World are quite handy, and helpful," Seirei said smiling as she inserted her own deck. "Ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Kokuro stated recouping from the sudden appearce of the disk. The two stared at each other and called out.

"Duel!"

Seirei: 4000/Kokuro: 4000

"Since I am testing you, I will begin," Seirei said drawing.

"Shouldn't I go first?" Kokuro asked. "So you can see how I will start off?"

"My goal is to see how you react to my moves," Seirei said. "Watching a person will only do so much, I must witness how their spirit guides them when faced with obstacles." She looked at her hand and placed a card on her side of the field. "I summon Inaba White Rabbit," she announced as a small white rabbit on a rocket appeared on the field. (700/?) "I'll then set two cards under the table," she announced as two brown backed cards appeared. "I'll finish my move by activating the Spring of Rebirth," she said sliding the card into her duel disk as a small spring appeared on the field.

"If I'm not mistaken, that Inaba White Rabbit is a Spirit Monster, which means that it will return to your hand at the end of your turn," Kokuro said looking at it.

"That is correct," Seirei said nodding.

"So then what's the point?" Kokuro asked her.

"When a card is returned to my field from my hand, my Spring of Rebirth grants me five hundred Life Points," Seirei announced as Inaba transformed into a ball of spirit energy and returned to its card. The spring shot out a mist of water and sprayed Seirei, refreshing her.

Seirei: 4500/Kokuro: 4000

"Hmph," Kokuro said drawing with a grin. "Unfortunately, It's not my spirit that's telling me to attack you directly," Kokuro said revealing his Skilled Black Magician. The spellcaster was summoned to the field. "Attack the player!" Kokuro announced!

"You've revealed my trap," Seirei said as her face down reversed. "Spirit Calling. This continuous trap can only activate during your battle phase, it grants me the ability to normal summon a spirit monster from my hand," she explained as she took a card from her hand and placed it onto the field. "Come forth, Dark Dusk Spirit!" a dark zombie type spirit appeared on the field, wrapped in bandages with grayish hair that flowed through the breeze. Its dark red eyes glared at the Skilled Black Magician. (2200/1800)

"Ha!" Akuma said from the sidelines. "A 'Dark Dusk' type of spirit monster? What about all that talk with working with the forces of light?"

"Dark Dusk Spirit isn't as dark as your Archfiends," Seirei said calmly. "Besides, there are not many Spirit Monsters in the game of Duel Monsters, so I must improvise."

"Speaking of improvising," Kokuro said getting Seirei's attention back to the duel, "I thought when Dark Dusk Spirit was summoned that you got to destroy everything on the field."

"Dark Dusk Spirit's ability is only activated when it is tribute summoned, it was simply normal summoned without a sacrifice," Seirei responded.

"But why a normal summon?" Kokuro asked.

"Duh, it's because Spirit Monsters can't be special summoned, even I knew that," Akuma said.

"Oh yeah," Kokuro said embarrassed..

"Now, I reveal my other down card," Seirei announced. "Corpse of Yata Garasu. This allows me to draw twice if there is a Spirit Monster on my side of the field," she explained as she made two draws from her deck.

"I suppose my only option is to set these two cards under the table and end my turn," Kokuro said setting the two cards. "My turn is done."

"Your spirit is growing stronger," Seirei commented.

"What do you mean?" Kokuro asked.

Seirei closed her eyes, "While you still rush right into battle with your 'Trigger Trap Strategy' as you've called it, you used to get much more excitable when someone activated a trap."

'I've never told anyone I call it my Trigger Trap Strategy…' Kokuro thought looking at Seirei. 'Is she really peering into the recesses of my soul?'

"You used to get worked up, as if you honestly didn't think they had any traps to stop you, but now you are much calmer when it happens, and you maintain your focus on the duel, instead of the surprise."

Kokuro looked down at his deck, and thought about what she said, 'You know, I think she's right.'

"I sense that a lot of this has come from your connection with Sonomi, and with your own personal learning," Seirei said opening her eyes and smiling. "I'm quite impressed."

"Can…can you really read my spirit?" Kokuro asked her.

"It would seem that your connection with spirits is still weak though, and you do not yet realize the potential you hold," Seirei said grimily. "And that is defiantly an area we need to work on with you."

"He does have connections to a special kind of spirit though," Akuma chimed in. "He has a friendship spirit, which is the reason for his strong bond with those two girls. While it's not the same as you are talking about, it's still there."

"So, are you saying I'm going to be some kind of hero like from anime and manga," Kokuro said excitedly.

The two girls stared at each other with a hint of annoyance in their looks, "So immature," Akuma said shaking her head.

"Excuse me?" Kokuro asked.

"A 'hero' does not get excited due to their power," Seirei explained, "That leads to a path of darkness, one that is not as manageable as with Akuma." Akuma began muttering but Seirei continued, "A 'hero' understands their role as someone who can, and must, make a difference."

Kokuro's smile faded as he thought about what she said, "Someone who understands their role as someone who can, and must, make a difference," he repeated trying it out. 'Do you honestly believe I can make a difference?" he asked. "I mean, I couldn't make a difference in elementary school with my peers, and I came here to have fun and make friends. Can I really be destined for some kind of change? It seems so unlike me. I can't be taken seriously, I'm a goof ball who likes to have fun. People like Sonomi, and Artemis, they're the kinds of people who seem fit for that kind of role. I'm a cheerleader…'

"There is a lot of doubt in your heart," Seirei said sadly. "You must wash away that doubt. Tell me, have you ever been able to sense something, besides your friendship spirit?"

Kokuro thought about it, remembering how he felt pulled to the card in the vault, and the weird dream with the girl he had been having, and his past. "Yeah," he said.

"Do you think you would have been able to sense something like that if you were not destined for the change?" Akuma asked him.

"I…suppose not," Kokuro said.

"Remember, it matters not what role you play in the change," Seirei said offering comforting words. "You could simply be a catalyst for a greater power to arise, perhaps you will hand off your power to someone who will finish the change, or perhaps you are the person who will finish the change. As people who have been chosen by fate, we must _not _focus on which parts we play, rather we must simply play them, like the cards in our Dueling Decks."

"The cards in our decks?" Kokuro asked looking at them.

"A card you use, the Apprentice Magician," Seirei said, "It is a small attacking monster, whose spell counter effect you rarely use. And you use it for many things, thinning your deck, making a temporary wall, searching for an Old Vindictive Magician. However, it has often times helped you overcome great obstacles in a duel which allow you to become victorious. Sometimes, the roll a hero plays is to fall, so that a greater power may be born. I'm sure the Apprentice Magician does not consider her role with much thought, but plays it as she should."

Kokuro let the words sink in, and he smiled, "You're right. No matter what role I play, it's still important in the grand scheme." He nodded to her, "Thanks. And right now, my role in our duel is to end my turn, in order to let you play yours."

"That is right," Seirei said, "but before my turn can begin, Dark Dusk Spirit returns to my hand," she announced as her spirit monster transformed into a ball of light, like Inaba before it, and returned to Seirei's hand. "And now my Spring of Rebirth grants me five hundred more Life Points."

Seirei: 5000/Kokuro: 4000

"And now it's my move," Seirei announced drawing. "And in order to keep Spirit Calling on the field, I must first pay five hundred Life Points."

Seirei: 4500/Kokuro: 4000

"With Spring of Rebirth that's hardly a problem," Kokuro said looking at her card. "You'll still be gaining five hundred life points all together between our two turns, it's a constant add in your case."

"That is correct, and now, it's time to damage yours," she said as she placed a card onto her Duel Disk. "I summon Inaba White Rabbit once more," she said as the white rabbit appeared on the field. (700/?) "Inaba, direct attack!" The rocket blasted off and struck Kokuro in the chest lowering his life points.

Seirei: 4500/Kokuro: 3300

"I'll set one card under the table and end my turn," Seirei announced as her card appeared face down. "Inaba returns to my hand, and I gain another five hundred life points.

Seirei: 5000/Kokuro: 3300

"My move, draw!" Kokuro announced drawing. 'Giant Trunade,' he thought looking at it. He then turned his attention to Seirei's side of the field. 'One under and Spirit Calling on the field, along with Spring of Rebirth. And this in my hand,' he said looking at a Magician. "It's time, I summon Rapid Fire Magician!" he announced as a magician in a red cloak with two staffs in his hands appeared on the field. (1600/1200)

"Now what is he planning?" Akuma wondered.

"Now I activate Giant Trunade!" Kokuro announced as a strong wind began to pick up around the field. The wind scooped up his two down cards as it began to head for Seirei's side of the field. "Giant Trunade brings back every spell and trap card from our field to our hand. Seirei stood calmly and glanced at her face down card.

"Also, since Giant Trunade is a normal spell card, Rapid Fire Magician will blast away four hundred of your Life Points! So go Rapid Fire Magician, Rapid Fire Magic!" The magician's staffs began to blow and then multiple colored balls of magic began to shoot off which exploded as it made contact. Kokuro grinned but as the smoke cleared, he noticed that Seirei was unharmed. "What's going on?" he asked curiously.

"Before Giant Trunade could sweep it away, I activated my Holy Life Barrier," Seirei explained as she pointed to the trap on the field, and the blue barrier in front of her. "This protects my life points from all kinds of damage for this turn."

"So that was it," Kokuro said nodding.

"All I had to do was discard Tsukuyomi from my hand," she said discarding her card into the Graveyard.

"I suppose my only other option is to re-set these two cards face down then," Kokuro said as his two cards reappeared face down. "Turn end."

"My turn, draw," Seirei replied calmly. "I summon Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer," Seirei called out as a spiritual monk appeared on the field with a cross on and prayer beads in his hand. (1800/?) "Kycoo, destroy his Rapid Fire Magician!" she announced. Kycoo gathered a ball of spiritual energy in his hand and fired it at Rapid Fire Magician, destroying him.

Seirei: 5000/Kokuro: 3100

'She's a lot better than I would have given her credit for,' Kokuro thought.

"Kycoo's special ability allows me to remove up to two monsters from your graveyard," Seirei explained, "So I'll remove Skilled Black Magician." Skilled Black slid out of Kokuro's Duel Disk and he put the card into his pocket. "I set one card under the table, and reactivate Spring of Rebirth," Seirei said concluding her turn.

Kokuro nodded and drew his card. "I'll set one monster on guard," he announced as he placed the card face down. "My turn is done."

"Short but sweet," Akuma chuckled from the sidelines.

"Draw," Seirei said drawing. "I summon Inaba White Rabbit," she said as the white rabbit appeared. "Direct attack!" The Rabbits rocket began blasting off again as it went for Kokuro.

"Not this time," Kokuro announced as his trap card flipped up. "Go Rainbow Life!"

"And what does that do?" Seirei asked as a rainbow began to fall from the sky and envelope Kokuro.

"By discarding one card," he said sending his Black Magician of Chaos to the graveyard, "I gain any damage you would have caused me this turn."

"Interesting," Akuma said nodding. "It's a little too colorful for my taste though."

The rabbit's rocket went through the rainbow filling Kokuro with a refreshing energy.

Seirei: 5000/Kokuro: 3800

"There is no need for me to declare an attack against your face down monster," Seirei said shrugging. "I sense from your confidence that I would not be able to defeat it anyway, so I shall end my turn, and have Inaba return to my hand." Inaba returned to Seirei's hand and Spring of Rebirth gave her an extra five hundred life points.

Seirei: 5500/Kokuro: 3800

"My move," Kokuro said drawing his card. "And now, it's time to bring back an old friend." He slid a card into his duel disk and Premature Burial appeared on the field. "I pay eight hundred life points to bring back Black Magician of Chaos!" Kokuro called out as his blue robed magician appeared on the field, his blue hair flowing in the wind. (2800/2600) "And my chaotic Black Magician allows me to return Giant Trunade," Kokuro announced as his spell card came out of his graveyard. "Now to activate it!"

Another burst of wind came ripping through the field causing all spells and traps to return to their owners hands. "Now your magician is no longer held by the power of your spell card."

"That's right," Kokuro said setting a card face down. "Now, Black Magician of Chaos, destroy Kycoo with Chaos Scepter Blast!" The blue magician spun its staff rapidly, creating an orb of purple and blue magic, which it fired obliterating the monk. "And with it goes one thousand life points," Kokuro pointed out.

Seirei: 4500/Kokuro: 3800

"I'll set one monster on guard," Kokuro played his card on his duel disk, "and that ends my turn." He waved his hand signaling his turn end as his horizontal card appeared face down.

"It's my turn," Seirei said drawing her card. "And I'll begin it by activating Pot of Greed," she announced as the pot appeared on the field, with two draws the pot shattered and she looked at her new cards. "I activate Mausolium of the Emperor!" she announced as she placed the card on her Field Card Zone that opened up. The field around them shifted instantly, they were standing on opposite sides of a cliff with multiple sarcophagi below them.

"This card allows us each to tribute life points rather than monsters in order to summon high level monsters," Seirei said. "But first, I'll activate my Book of Taiyou, on your first set monster," she said placing the card into her duel disk. Magician's Valkyria was forced out of her defensive stance and placed into Attack Mode. (1600/1800)

'This won't be good,' Kokuro thought looking at Seirei.

"Now, I give up two thousand life points!" Seirei announced placing a card on her disk. Two sarcophagi rose up from below the cliff and vanished.

Seirei: 2500/Kokuro: 3800

"I summon Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi!" Seirei announced as a muscular man with no shirt, a cloth around his waist, and flaming red hair appeared on the field. (2800/2900) "Now, you're Magician's Valkyria can't protect your life points now! Attack!" The giant spirit monster formed a ball of fire in its hands which it fired at the magician girl. She shattered into pixels as the fire came on to hit Kokuro as well.

Seirei: 2500/Kokuro: 3000

"I'll wrap up my turn by setting one card under the table and by reactivating my Spring of Rebirth," Seirei announced as the fountain once more came to the field. "Now, Hino Kagu-Tsuchi returns to my hand," she announced placing the card back in her hand as the spring sprayed its cooling water on her.

Seirei: 3000/Kokuro: 3000

"It's my move," Kokuro said reaching for his deck.

"Not so fast," Seirei said holding out her hand. "The special ability of my Hino Kagu-Tsuchi is now activated. Before you draw, you must first discard every card that is in your hand."

"Fine," Kokuro said discarding his entire hand to his graveyard. "My move," he placed his hand on his deck and pulled the card.

* * *

"The boy is stubborn…" Sonomi said pacing their room constantly. "He's unbelievably stubborn."

"I wonder where he got it from," Mia said yawning trying to go back to sleep.

"Don't you blame this on me," Sonomi retorted.

"Didn't say I was," Mia yawned and turned over.

"There's something he's not telling us," Sonomi said as she continued to pace around the room.

"Worrying about it isn't going to do you any good," Mia said. "Besides, I keep stuff from you too, just like you keep stuff from me. We may be his friends but we can't force him to tell us stuff he doesn't want us to know, it's not the way the life works."

"I suppose you're right," Sonomi said sighing and sitting down. Just then, their Kuriboh's appeared on next to them and cried out. They each looked at each other for a moment as the Kuriboh's vanished.

"He's dueling," Mia said looking at Sonomi. Sonomi growled and climbed back up to the top bunk and lay down, angry.

* * *

"Black Magician of Chaos, attack the player!" Kokuro called out.

"You should know better," Seirei said as her face down trap opened. "Spirit Calling, bring forth my Hino Kagu-Tsuchi!" she called out as her Spirit Monster returned to the field and knocked back the magical energy.

Kokuro stared at the monster, 'At this point, I'll never get to her life points…' he thought worriedly. "I end my turn."

"And Hino Kagu-Tsuchi returns to my hand," she announced as it vanished. The fountain began spewing its refreshing water on Seirei as she sighed happily.

Seirei: 3500/Kokuro: 1800

"Just how much fun can holographic water be?" Akuma asked her.

"My move," Seirei said ignoring her. "And the duel is mine," she said grinning.

"Bring it!" Kokuro shouted.

"You keep a shred of hope, even when you're time has come, that's admirable, but sometimes the best strategy is to admit defeat, and try a new tactic next time."

"I don't care how impossible it seems, my deck won't let me down," Kokuro said assuredly.

"Then let's see that confidence in your deck make a motion one more time," Akuma said.

"Indeed," Seirei said. "Since you still have the hope that you're going to win, I'll continue to pay for Spirit Calling," Seirei announced.

Seirei: 3000/Kokuro: 1800

"Now, Mausoleum, give my spirit monsters a sacrifice," Seirei announced as two tokens appeared on the field and vanished.

Seirei: 1000/Kokuro: 1800

"Come forth once more, Hino Kagu-Tsuchi!" she declared as the spirit monster appeared once more. "Now, I activate a card I'm sure you're very familiar with, Riryoku!"

"Take's half of a monster's attack and gives it to the controller's monster," Akuma said nodding. "Once that monster attacks, it's practically a direct attack…she's got it won."

"Not so fast!" Kokuro called out, "Reveal Trap, Spell Shield Type 8! Since Riryoku is targeting Black Magician of Chaos, it's negated!" The machine appeared on the field and put up a protective blue barrier around the magician protecting it.

"He actually stopped himself from losing," Akuma said impressed. "What now spirit-girl?"

"I've no choice, Hino Kagu-Tsuchi, attack Black Magician of Chaos!" Seirei announced. Kagu-Tsuchi released a ball of fire as Black Magician of Chaos released a blast of magic, the explosion caused by the two collided attacks destroyed both monsters. "My turn is over," Seirei announced.

"My move," Kokuro announced drawing. He looked at his card and played it instantly, "Go Blast Magician!" he announced as his red cloaked, scythe wielding magician appeared on the field. (1400/1700) "You can only activate your Spirit Calling's ability during the battle phase," Kokuro said grinning. "But if I end my turn now, you don't gain the extra five hundred Life Points," he grinned. "So I end my turn."

"Clever move," Akuma nodded.

"He's adapting to the duel," Seirei agreed as she drew her card, "My move, and I refuse to pay for Spirit Calling!" she announced as her trap was destroyed. "Now, I summon Inaba White Rabbit," She announced as her rabbit appeared on the field. "And I play the spell card Double Summon, allowing me to perform a second summon this turn. So I sacrifice Inaba in order to summon Dark Dusk Spirit!" she called out as a the rabbit vanished causing the zombie spirit to return to the field. (2200/1800)

"Dark Dusk Spirit's ability, destroy all monsters automatically!" Seirei announced as a gas began to creep out of Dark Dusk Spirit's body, poisoning Blast Magician and making him fall to the ground dead. "No traps to protect you this time, attack the player!" Dark Dusk Spirit began to form a ball of energy in its hand.

"No traps," Kokuro said holding the only card in his hand to his face, "But the perfect defense against this sort of situation!"

"What?" Seirei gasped as she watched him slide the card into the graveyard slot. "NO!" she gasped as Kuriboh appeared on the field and took the attack.

"He dodged your attack again," Akuma said chuckling.

"I end my turn, and Dark Dusk Spirit returns to my hand," Seirei announced as Spring of Rebirth granted her five hundred more life points.

Seirei: 1500/Kokuro: 1800

'No cards,' Kokuro thought looking at his hand. 'Only one hope,' he thought placing his deck close to his heart. 'Heart of the cards, connect with mine, and bring me victory!' he pulled the card from his deck and looked at it. "Game," he said smirking. "I play Revive Dead, I re-summon my Magician's Valkyria from the graveyard," he watched as his magician girl reappeared on the field. "Direct Attack!" he called out. The magician girl fired a green ball of energy at Seirei, which she took with ease.

Seirei: 0/Kokuro: 1800

The holograms vanished, and Kokuro fell to one knee, breathing hard. "Wow…_that_ was a duel."

"Agreed," Seirei said sitting up.

"So, did you find out what you needed?" Kokuro asked standing up.

"Yes, I believe I did," she said looking at him. "No matter what you may face, you have the power to overcome it, even if you need a bit of a crutch."

He raised his eyebrows as Akuma turned to her, "So…what do we do for him?"

"Come with me, I believe I have something that will help for now anyway," Seirei said. They began walking towards the dorm when she stopped and turned to Kokuro, "Oh, there is a spot in your soul that is sad, something about not keeping a promise to a friend."

Kokuro's eyes raised again, "What do you mean?"

Seirei shrugged, "You'd have to tell me. Apparently you forgot to do something for someone. Anyway, come with me."

* * *

Sonomi was lying in bed staring at the ceiling when she heard the doorknob jiggle. She looked down and watched as Kokuro re-entered the room.

"Where have you been?" she asked angrily as she slid down the ladder to look him in the eyes.

"I was out walking," he said.

"You were dueling," she pointed at him. "We both heard Kuriboh," she said indicating Mia.

Kokuro smiled, "I got it from you," he said. "The dueling in the training area in order to blow off steam; I thought I would give it a try."

"That's what you were doing?" Sonomi asked relaxing a little.

"Yeah," he whispered as he looked over at Mia. Even though he couldn't see her face, which was turned to the wall, he knew she probably looked very peaceful, and he admired her straight brown hair. It was then his eyes suddenly widened.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

He turned to Sonomi smiling, "Nothing, I just remembered a promise I had forgotten to keep." She looked at him quizzically before he put his hand on her shoulder. "It's nothing to worry about, I'll just have to fix it tomorrow," he said smiling. "If you'll excuse me, I've got to get some sleep."

He began heading to his bed when Sonomi grabbed him, spun him around, and stared him straight in the eyes, "Kokuro," she whispered softly. "What's going on with you? It's all been less than twenty four hours, but it seems like days since I've been able to look at you like I used too. Something has changed in you, and I feel like I don't know you anymore."

"We all carry burdens," Kokuro said, "Some are just more severe than others," he took her hand and squeezed it tight. "I may not be able to tell you or Mia what's wrong, but you both will help me out in the end. You're my best friends, and you're the ones that will keep me going forward. With you two around nothing bad will happen to me. I love you both very much."

Sonomi looked surprised by what he said, "I told you before…"

"I love you both as my best friends," he said smiling. "I wouldn't trade either of you ever. You both are a part of me now, and you'll always be by my side. With you two next to me there's nothing to worry about, I promise."

Sonomi wanted to say something, but she simply nodded, "Alright."

"I'll see you in the morning," he said. He went to hug her but she pulled away. "Right," he said softly.

"Good night," she sighed as she watched him climb into bed. 'I can't let this affect me, he said he'd be fine, and I have to believe him. I have to go about this tournament like I planned.' She got into her bed and began to fall asleep.

* * *

Mia: "The tournament starts tomorrow!"

Kokuro: No kidding! I'm so psyched, I'm going to be the first to duel.

Sonomi: Sorry Kokuro, but I think you'll be too busy sleeping while I'm out scoring victories.

Kokuro: But that's not fair, I'm the star!

Sonomi: Not any more! Move over Kid, my time in the spotlight is just begining!

Mia: Next chapter, Path to Ultimate Destiny!

Sonomi: Everyone better watch out!

Kokuro: When did I lose main character status?

Sonomi: Oh be quite!


	49. Path to Ultimate Destiny

Sdrive: Let's get it going.

Ra Yellow:

Chapter 49

Path to Ultimate Destiny.

Sonomi's PDA woke her up at 5:30 in the morning. She looked at it and growled. She wanted to get herself ready for the tournament early, but hadn't planned on being up half the night waiting for Kokuro. 'Sometimes I wonder if the boy is worth all the trouble I go through for him,' she thought to herself as she slid down the ladder as quietly as she could.

She went to the closet and opened it. There were multiple kimonos on one side of the closet. They were all Mia's. Most were fairly nice kimonos, and some were what most would consider atrocious and inappropriate to wear at a nice dinner, mainly because of the random designs that were on them. Sonomi knew that Mia liked to dress up, she also knew that Mia liked to wear outfits that made people squirm, for the simple fact that no one could take the joke. The one that got Sonomi's attention most was one which had flames embroidered all around it. She pulled it out and looked it over. 'This will fit,' she thought pleased with herself.

She went to her desk and pulled out her hair dryer, her straightening iron, a couple of hair clips, and some hair ties. She took all of the stuff and brought it into the bathroom. She looked at her hair in the mirror. It had gotten longer since the beginning of the semester; and while it wasn't passed her shoulders, it was long enough for what she had planned. Closing the door she got to work.

After a couple of minutes of listening to the shower water run and trying to fight off the morning, Kokuro was fully awoken by the sound of the hair dryer. He looked over at the door to see that the light was on. He looked at his PDA to see that it was only 6 in the morning. He looked down to see Mia still asleep in her bed. 'Talk about waking up early Sonomi,' he thought as he turned around and tried to go back to sleep once more.

About half an hour later the door to the bathroom opened, but Kokuro was still trying to get to sleep. He let Sonomi leave the room and the quiet in the room was enough to allow him to fall back into his dreams.

* * *

"Wakey wakey!" Mia chimed out rubbing against Kokuro. Kokuro turned over to look at her and yawned.

"What are you so chipper about?" he asked her.

"It's the start of the tournament today!" she said crawling into bed with him.

"What are you doing?" he asked her a little startled.

"I want to know my man will be ready for everything that will come his way," she said crawling on top of him. "And the best way to do that is to be really, _really, _relaxed," she said with a mischievous grin on her face.

"Ummmm," Kokuro said looking into her eyes.

"So…" she said letting it hang in the air for a moment. Kokuro gulped when she continued, "So I want you to rub my feet, give me a back massage, give me a manicure and a pedicure, and promise you won't challenge me you big strong eliminator. After that I know I'll be relaxed enough to duel," she said falling off of him and landing right next to him. She snuggled up next to him and whispered into his ear, "How does that sound?"

He turned his head to look into her eyes, and couldn't help but wrap his arm around her. Mia's face turned into one of surprise, before she smiled softly and snuggled closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder blade and sighed. "Takashi used to do that exact same thing," she said. "I always used to love it, it was so romantic. But I worry if he can really be alright with me being out here on this island, leaving him all alone, all for the sake of my own thrills."

"You're not worried he's cheating on you, are you?" Kokuro asked her. She sighed again and closed her eyes, snuggling as close as she could. "Oh Mia," he said rubbing her back. "You can't honestly think that. I mean, you're such an amazing person, I can't see how anyone wouldn't want to be with you."

"But guys don't want an 'amazing person,' they want a 'hot chick' who will do whatever they want. They may not admit it at first, but after a while, and after some time away, they realize that what they have isn't what they want."

"That's not true," Kokuro said looking into her eyes. "Guy's may want that kind of girl when they're dating, and drunk, but real men, the ones who are looking for the girl they're going to spend the rest of their life with, they want the girl who will always be faithful, and will show them enough love that they would never want to be with someone else. Men who cheat on their wives, aren't really happy with the women they're with, but the ones that don't cheat know that they've found the girl of their dreams, and they wouldn't leave them for anything."

Mia averted her eyes and looked up at the top of the bed, "I used to get picked on a lot when I was younger."

"I find that hard to believe," Kokuro said.

"Never to my face, but they would laugh at me because I would dress up like a good little girl, and then act hyper and run around like I was psychotic or something," she said sighing again. "And then they would watch when I went to school in jeans and a t-shirt and dared the boys to face me in sports."

"What kinds of sports?" Kokuro asked.

"Football, baseball, anything the guys were playing. I wanted to be accepted by the guys more than the girls, and the girls often called me a tomboy, even when I wore my skirts."

"I can see you being a tomboy," Kokuro said chuckling.

"Even you?" she asked looking at him.

"I can imagine you as a tomboy, and I can just imagine what you would do, and all I can do is laugh because it's so like you and to me, it's cute."

"So you're not making fun of me?"

"No, I think it fits you perfectly," he said laughing.

She smiled at him and put her head on his shoulder again, "Later on when I got older, and I developed, I got a lot of boys to look at me, but I could also hear them whispering about how all they wanted me for was…well, I think you can guess. They would never want me as an actual girlfriend though, just some naïve teen girl. Takashi even admitted one time that I wasn't usually the kind of girl he dated. When I told him no, he figured that I wasn't as naïve as he thought, and figured it may be worth sticking around, maybe he could get to love me. After that he started getting very romantic, not trying anything, he just became a real sweetheart. But I wonder if while I'm gone, he's off with the girls he prefers."

"If he is, and you ever find out he's cheating on you, just let me know and I'll make sure he never does it again," Kokuro said smiling at her. "And that's a promise. No one hurts my best friend."

She looked up and smiled at him, "thanks," she said and hugged him.

"But I don't think he is," he said releasing the hug, "if he honestly changed, then I think he's sitting at home waiting for you. And if he knows enough about you, he probably knows that you'd be bored if you stayed at home all the time doing nothing. You are rather adventurous; and I'm sure he understands."

"Thanks," she said. "That means a lot to me."

"Any time," he said smiling. "You know," he began to change the subject, "every time I look at you, I get a little sad, and I think I know why."

"Because even though you know I have doubts about Takashi you know I would never cheat on him so you don't have a chance with me?" she asked quizzically.

"Not exactly," he said rubbing his hand through her hair. "I never braided your hair like I promised you I would."

Mia's eyes lit up, "You did remember!" she gasped. "I wasn't going to push it because you got sick after the nature hike, and then there was the tournament, and then Parent's Night came, I just figured you were too busy and I wasn't going to mention it."

"If you still want me to…" he began.

"As I keep thinking about it, I was thinking maybe just some parts of my hair, not the whole thing. Like maybe my bangs?"

"If that's all you want done, that's all I'll do," Kokuro said.

"You're amazing," she said wrapping her arms around him hugging him.

"Thanks," he said smiling.

"Want to know a secret?"

"What?" he asked.

"When you look at me in the eyes, I know that there's that deep connection that says that you would do anything for me. And if things between Takashi and me didn't work out, and you and Sonomi never got together…"

"Hey…" he said getting flushed.

"…I would ask you out in a heartbeat," she said looking at him.

"Really?" he asked raising his eyebrow.

She nodded, "and if you ever proposed, I'd jump into your arms and say 'take me you manly stud.'"

"Of course you would," Kokuro laughed. "Because I am just that, a 'manly stud,'" he replied sarcastically.

"In the eyes of the beholder," Mia smiled.

"That means a lot," he said pushing her bangs out of her eyes. "Now how about I keep my promise?"

"Sounds good," she smiled.

* * *

"Im…impossible!" a boy in a Gamma Pearl outfit said as a fireball blasted into him. He fell to his knees as his Life Points fell to zero. "Wow…you really are good," he said looking across the grassy field to his opponent.

His opponent was none other than Sonomi, she was wearing the flame embroidered kimono. Her hair was parted into two long strands off to the sides, tied together with the hair ties. She also had a part in front of her face, so that there was one section tied off from the rest of the front of her hair that fell right next to her left eye. Her duel disk was wrapped around her arm, and she was clearing off her cards. "You lose. But what should I have expected from a kid whose color is called 'Pearl.'"

"We're based off the Magnet Warriors!" the kid shot back. "Beta Gold, Alpha Silver, and Gamma Pearl since Gamma Pink sounds stupid!"

"Whatever," Sonomi said obviously not interested. "Since you lost you lose one fourth of your entire score."

"I only had 137," the boy said upset. "You're only the second person I've dueled."

"Pathetic," Sonomi said glaring at him. "I advise you to drop out now if this is the best you can do." The boy got shaky and decided to run off. "It was a pleasure eliminating you," Sonomi growled.

"You sure showed him," a male voice said from behind her.

Sonomi turned around to see a familiar Obelisk Blue leaning against a tree, grinning at her. "Rerun," she said staring him down. "Or at least that's what you used to call yourself; whatever you're calling yourself now is of no interest to me. Anyway what do you want?"

"Hinote, I saw you freak out when your father arrived, how'd that work out for you?" he asked smirking at her.

"Shut your mouth!" she snapped at him. "Just who are you to judge me?"

"Hey," he said shrugging, "I'm just calling it as I saw it."

"Well maybe you need to have your eyes checked."

"I dunno," he said pushing himself off the tree walking over to her. "You did look pretty scared. I actually felt really bad, for you. It made me forget all about that defeat you handed me at the volcano and made me realize that you need someone in your life that can make you feel safe."

"I don't _need_ anyone to make me feel safe," Sonomi pointed out. "Besides, even if I did Kokuro already beat you to that," she said grinning.

"Well, it's cool and all that Kokuro stood up for you, but he's just a first year, where as you're a second year and I'm a third," Rerun stated. "He's too naïve and you need someone who's more mature, someone who's at your level."

"He's at my level as a duelist already," Sonomi said narrowing her eyes.

"That's not exactly what I meant," Rerun stated.

"Then for what?" she asked.

"Someone to be with you, through thick and thin and all that good stuff," he said winking at her.

"Oh gross!" she said backing off. "Please, don't tell me you're in love with me."

"Ok, I'm not in love with you," he said.

"Good," Sonomi replied angrily.

"But I couldn't help feeling a little tinge of something during Parent's Night, the way you danced with Kokuro, I'll admit it made me jealous. And I realized something was there, and that little something could turn into love if given the chance."

"Back off. Why would I want to go out with you anyway?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," he mocked apologetically. "I didn't know you had a boyfriend already, my mistake."

"What are you talking about?" she asked confused. "I don't have a boyfriend."

"You don't?" he asked faking shock. "So then that means you're free."

She withdrew momentarily before turning red a bit, "Well, not exactly…"

"And just who _do_ you have the hots for then?" Rerun asked. "And if you say Kokuro…

"What makes you think I like _him!"_

"A little defensive eh?" he asked looking down at her.

"I'm not," she glared.

"I'm just making sure," he shrugged. His expression started to lighten, "Listen, I never took you seriously the last time we dueled, but I noticed a really strong side to you. You were focused, confident, and determined. Those are the kinds of qualities I like in girls. Girls shouldn't have to rely on guys too often. Once in a while is cool, but they should stick up for themselves, just like you did to me."

"I'm glad I meet your approval," she said rolling her eyes. "But I'm not interested."

Rerun shrugged, "I'm a nice guy honestly, a bit of an ass sometimes sure, but I can't see why you wouldn't want to at least give it a shot. I mean, you have the qualities I'm into, and you're even starting to get the look."

"What do you mean?" she asked insulted.

"Whoa, take a chill pill," he said backing off and putting his hands up defensively. "I think you're pretty, don't get me wrong. It was just your hair always kind of disappointed me."

"My…hair?" she asked thinking about her new style..

"Yeah," he nodded. "But this new look is pretty hot. I have to say it looks good on you," he brushed his hand over the part that was next to her eye, causing her to slap his hand away.

"Touch me again and there are going to be problems," Sonomi glared.

He put his hands up once again in defense, "I'm just admiring you, seriously chill out. I like the fact that you're letting your hair grow out a little. It doesn't have to be as long as that other girl you hang out with, but it does look better with a little length."

"Again I'm so thrilled you approve," she sarcastically replied. "It's going to be hard to break to you that I didn't grow it out for you."

"Didn't say you did," he grinned. "But let me offer you this, I can be your second opponent in the tournament, if I win, you should at least let me take you out for lunch today. Give me a chance, it's all I ask. I'll even pay."

"Not on your life," she said turning around walking away. "According to tournament rules I'm under no obligation to face you in a duel."

"True," Rerun said grinning. "And it must come in handy if you're scared of losing."

Sonomi stopped in her tracks and turned, but this time there was a grin on her face, "Did you just imply that I'm scared of you?"

He crossed his arms, knowing he had her now, "I don't think you're scared of losing to me, I think you're scared of the thought of having to go out with me. You're worried that the tough, single Sonomi will actually enjoy time with another man who isn't that first year."

"I am so sick of everyone referring to him as that!" Sonomi yelled turning around. "I'm the only one on this entire island who has any right to call him 'just a first year.'"

"I didn't say _just_," Rerun said getting defensive.

"It was implied," Sonomi said. "Have you defeated him yet? Have you even bothered to challenge him?"

"Haven't gotten around to it really," he shrugged. "Haven't needed too. He's good, I acknowledge it. I'm good too. It would probably be a pretty even match, but I'd rather not bother when everyone else is all up in his grill.

"Then you've got no right to act superior!"

"Like you do?" he laughed. "Even though you've overcome him once more, last I checked he's still beaten you before. The only one with any rights to disrespect him is Kazuki."

"Kazuki's not that kind of person," Sonomi retorted. Then a clever little thought occurred to her, "In fact, Kazuki's the kind of person I'd be more willing to go out with, maybe you should start acting a little more like him."

"You're not in to him," Rerun laughed. "Nice bluff though. But here's an idea, if you truly think you're superior and have the right to diss on Kokuro, why not challenge him now?"

"I am superior and I have the right because I'm his _friend."_

"Must be some friendship," Rerun said rolling his eyes. "That still doesn't answer my question about dueling him."

"I wouldn't dream of challenging him right now. We're each playing with new decks, and knowing him, he's got a whole new set of tricks up his sleeves. I may have the most powerful deck in theory, but Kokuro has always found tricky strategies to overcome with his magicians, so until we duel again I can't assume that I've got the better deck between the two of us, not until I'm more experienced with this one anyway."

"Then you should duel him as soon as possible," Rerun said.

"We will be facing off in the finals, and you can trust me on that."

"We'll see," he said shrugging. "You'll be in it, I can see that one from a mile away, but as for him I can't be too sure about that."

"You're unbelievable."

"It would sicken someone who's got a crush on him. Again, that's why you're afraid to duel me, you don't want to think that it would be possible to like someone else."

"That's it!" Sonomi said taking a stance. "I'll accept your duel, and when _I_ win I want you to proclaim that Kokuro is far superior to you and he could beat you without even looking at his cards!"

"Whatever floats your boat," Rerun grinned pulling out his deck and inserting it into his Duel Disk. "I just look at it this way, a lot of the duelists here are second rate, hes obviously been playing a while. But with this new tournament, and everyone having access to all kinds of cards, the possibilities are endless. Like with my new deck."

"You're going to regret facing me again," Sonomi said reshuffling her deck and inserting it into her Duel Disk. Both disks unfolded.

"DUEL!"

"Let's see if you can face your Ultimate Destiny," Rerun said grinning. "Oh, and since this deck is all about Ultimate Destiny, I figure it's no longer right to call myself 'Rerun.' My true name is Mamoru."

"Doesn't that make you feel special?" Sonomi asked. "Now, let's see what my opening hand produces for me," she said as she pulled her first six cards from her deck. "I sure hope you're not running Final Countdown in that deck."

"I am actually," Mamoru said grinning.

"Too bad you'll never get to activate it," she said giving a fake pout. "I'm beginning by activating a Spell Card!" She slid the card into her Duel Disk. "Soul of Fire!"

"What does that do?" Mamuro asked. He got his answer when flames shot from all around Sonomi causing him to jump back.

"This card allows you to draw one card," Sonomi said grinning.

"Oh…ok," he said drawing a sixth card.

"Now, I remove one pyro-type monster from my deck out of play, and you take half of that monsters attack power as damage."

"What!" he gasped as she pulled a card from her deck and showed it to him. It looked like a devil of some sort with flames all around it. But what scared Mamoru most was the fact that it had three thousand attack points. The devil appeared on the field and shot a stream of fire at Mamoru which knocked him backwards as his Life Points went plummeting.

Sonomi: 4000/Mamoru: 2500

"And I'm not done yet," Sonomi said as she put the monster card into her kimono. "I also summon a brand new breed of fire monsters, meet my Volcanic Slicer!" she announced as she placed the card onto her Duel Disk. A large red monster that looked a little bit like a Dinosaur appeared on the field. It had long sharp claws on its hands and feet. (1800/1200)

"Now for Slicer's ability," Sonomi grinned, "By forgoing its attack it can strike your Life Points!" Slicer opened its mouth as a ball of fire appeared in it. The fireball shot out of its mouth and blasted Mamoru engulfing him in flames as his life points fell further.

Sonomi: 4000/Mamoru: 2000

"Now that half of your Life Point's are gone, I think my turn is over," Sonomi said grinning.

Mamoru shakily drew his seventh card. He looked at his hand and grinned at three of his cards, then he looked over the rest of his hand worriedly. 'I don't have a single playable monster in this condition.' He looked over at her and glared. "I'm activating Nightmare Steel Cage!" he announced as he slid his card into his disk. A large steel cage with points all around it trapped Sonomi inside. "Now neither of us can attack," he said.

"As I mentioned before, I can forgo my Slicer's usual attack to strike your life points, I'm not worried," Sonomi grinned.

"But at least you can't win next round. Now, I'll set one card under the table and end my turn."

"My move," Sonomi said drawing a card. "I suppose I'll build my forces until then," she said as she placed a card onto her disk. "I summon UFO Turtle!" she announced as her mechanical turtle appeared on the field. (1400/1200) "And now, Slicer, forgo your attack and blast his life points!" Sonomi declared.

The Volcanic Slicer released a second fireball which blasted Mamoru's life points, causing him to grunt.

Sonomi: 4000/Mamoru: 1500

"And that ends my turn," Sonomi grinned.

"Not so fast," Mamoru said. "Since it's your end phase, I feel like activating a Trap, and what better one than this!" he called out as his trap vanished and a giant board with all the letters of the alphabet, numbers around it from zero to nine, and the words YES, and NO, written on it. "The Ouija Board!"

"Oh wonderful," Sonomi said rolling her eyes. A cursor made its way over towards the letter D which appeared above it.

"And now I also get Spirit Message E!" he grinned as the Cursor moved to the left where E was and that appeared over it. "Once all the letters are revealed, my Ouija Board will spell out Death, which is the true Ultimate Destiny. Can you see it? My new deck bides away time until it can destroy you!"

"And you called Kokuro's deck second rate?" she asked sarcastically.

"Cute," he replied sarcastically. "And no I didn't. Anyway, this deck can lead you down one of three destinies, but each one leads to your ultimate destiny. You've seen the first, you know about the second, and since I'm a nice guy, would you like to know the last path you might travel down?"

"Let me guess, you're trying to summon Exodia the Forbidden One, aren't you?" she asked. He took a card from his hand and turned it over for her to see. The picture was that of a golden left leg. "You're so predictable," she said grinning.

"I took the only full set there was in the vault," he said laughing. "And I only showed you one of them, how do you know there's not another piece in my hand?" he taunted putting it back in. "If I were you, I'd be very worried"

"I'm not really worried," Sonomi said chuckling. "I know you have three pieces in your hand."

Even if she didn't know before, she did now by the expression on his face. "How did you…"

"You couldn't stop staring at them at the beginning of the duel, once you told me what your first two strategies, logic told me the last one and how many you had in your hand.

"You're good, but not good enough."

'If he can get any of those off, it's game over.' She looked at her Volcanic Slicer, 'Then again, I should be able to burn through his life points before he can hit the final Spirit Message.'

"My move," he drew his card as the steel cage began to get rusty.

"Looks like they don't build them like they used to," Sonomi chuckled.

"That's not an issue when I have destiny on my side, and a bit of poison."

"Poison?" Sonomi asked.

"The Poison of the Old Man, and I'll use it to regain twelve hundred life points," he announced revealing the card in his hand.

Sonomi: 4000/Mamoru: 2700

'Damn, now I'm in a bit of trouble,' Sonomi growled.

"My turn is over," Mamoru announced.

"My move," Sonomi said drawing her next card. "I sacrifice UFO Turtle!" Sonomi announced as the turtle vanished, "And I summon Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch!" she announced as the large emperor in red clothing appeared holding a fireball in his hand. "Thestalos will strike down a card in your hand, and if it's a monster you lose one hundred life points for every level it has, and if it's a piece of Exodia, you lose an entire strategy!" Thestalos took aim and blasted away a card on his left.

Mamoru quickly slid the burning card into his duel disk. "You hit my Dark Factory of Mass Production, a spell card."

'Damn it,' Sonomi growled. "Slicer, hit his life points!" she commanded as the third fireball was shot at Mamoru.

Sonomi: 4000/Mamoru: 2200

"That ends my turn," she stated.

The Ouija Board's cursor went over to the A on the board and the next spirit message appeared. "Tough Break," Mamoru said grinning as the steel cage began to crumble and break down. He pulled the next card from his deck and grinned. "I set one monster on guard and one under the table and end my turn," he announced.

"My move," Sonomi said drawing a card. She looked at it and grinned. 'This will assure my victory, assuming that's an effect monster,' she thought looking at his monster. "I set one card under the table," she announced as the card appeared face down. "Slicer, strike his points!"

Sonomi: 4000/Mamoru: 1700

The smoke cleared from the fire ball attack as the cursor appeared over T. "One more turn and its game over," he said grinning. "Speaking of which, why didn't you attack me this turn?"

"I've got my reasons," she grinned.

"Do your reasons have anything to do with this!" he shouted as his face down opened. "Dust Tornado, sweep away her face down!" A large tornado appeared on the field and blew away Sonomi's Ceasefire trap card. "Oh, I see, you were going to use that to lower my life points further and then blast away my points with one final assault with Slicer. Too bad it didn't work." He drew his card and laughed when he saw what it was. "I just drew my fourth Piece of Exodia!"

"Why would you tell me that?" Sonomi asked.

"Because nothing you do now will allow you to win," he grinned. "I'm setting this piece on guard and ending my turn," he announced as a face down monster appeared. "I win regardless at the end of your next round, you can't lower my life points enough."

"We'll see," she said pulling a card from her deck. She closed her eyes before looking at it. "What was that about not being able to win?" she asked. "I activate Soul of Fire once more!"

"NO!" Mamoru shouted as the flames engulfed her once more.

"Draw your card," she glared.

He pulled his card and his eyes widened. "No…that's not fair! I just set my fourth piece!"

"Heh, when you try to add too many different strategies in a deck, you're bound to get burned," Sonomi grinned. "I remove Volcanic Doomfire from my deck once more."

"What's that?" Mamoru asked.

"The monster with three thousand attack points," Sonomi grinned. The devil like monster appeared on the field firing a stream of fire at Mamoru.

Sonomi: 4000/Mamoru: 200

"Slicer, finish this duel!" Sonomi called out. The Volcanic Slicer fired a ball of fire which struck down Mamoru decreasing his life points all the way.

Sonomi: 4000/Mamoru: 0

The Ouija board vanished as did Sonomi's monsters. She stood over at him glaring, "Now if I'm not mistaken, you have the greatness of a friend of mine to start proclaiming.

"Go Kokuro," he said weakly before falling down.

She began walking away but stopped and turned around looking over at Mamoru, "Oh, and since you're an Obelisk, I just dropped you down to zero. It was a pleasure eliminating you." She smiled sweetly and then walked off thinking, 'It's fun to have a catchphrase.'

Mia finished the final touch on Kokuro's hair and looked at him. "I like it," she said smiling.

Kokuro looked into the mirror to see that Mia had spiked his hair out going in random directions. His hair had gotten long enough that now he could pull off the look. It almost reminded him of Ayumu Narumi from the manga Spiral, Bonds of Reasoning. He looked back at her and her newly braided bangs and sighed, "How did we get into doing my hair?" he asked her.

"Because I said I want to spike your hair for your eliminator status and you said ok because you can't resist me."

"Right," he said rolling his eyes. They heard their latch open and saw Sonomi walking in with her new hair style and Mia's Kimono.

"Wow!" Kokuro said taken back by her outfit change. He stood up and walked over to her, admiring her new look. "I must say, that look is definitely you."

"Thanks," she said looking at his hair. "You don't look too bad yourself."

"Thanks," Mia said standing up taking credit for it.

"I should have guessed," Sonomi said. "And nice hair for you as well."

"Thanks," Kokuro said mimicking Mia.

It was then they all looked at each other and realized they had all changed their hair. The revelation was kind of surprising to them, yet amusing.

"So you finally kept your promise, about time," Sonomi said shoving a package into Kokuro's arms.

"What's this?" he asked looking at it.

"Mail call," she said. "It arrived for you. Anyway, I'm off to find more challenges, you two had better hurry if you actually want to be in this tournament. You're both two duels behind me already."

"Once I see what this is I'm off!" Kokuro said determined.

"Catch ya later," she said turning around and walking out the door. 'His new hairstyle…' she thought. 'I really like it.'

Kokuro opened the package, expecting it to be from Selaya, when suddenly a small cube fell out. Kokuro barely caught it and looked at it. His eyes widened, "No way…" he thought.

"What is it?" Mia asked.

Kokuro dug in and revealed an envelope. He opened it quickly and read it. A grin grew on his face and he stuck the object in his pocket and the letter on the table. "Thanks." He said walking towards the closet. He grabbed his uniform and went into the bathroom to switch.

Mia's curiosity got the better of her and she snuck over to the table and picked up the letter.

_Kokuro,_

_I told you I'd never let you use this, but with you gone, there's no one left to play against. I figured since you're at Duelist Academy, you might be able to find someone there who plays. Make sure to use it against a worthy opponent._

_-Yamato._

"But…what was it?" Mia asked.

"My secret treasure," Kokuro said grabbing her shoulder. She spun around and turned bright red. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak through your things."

"If you didn't mean it then why are you holding my letter?" he asked.

"Ummm…" she said worried that he was upset.

He grabbed the letter from her and shook his finger at her, "I thought better of you," he said pocketing it. He then held up a small box with a lock that he had in his hand. "It goes with these," he said talking about the box.

"What's in there?" she asked.

"My inspiration," he grinned. He slid the box into his breast pocket and buttoned it. "I carry this with me everywhere I go, to remind myself why I'm a duelist."

"I've never seen it before," Mia said. "So, what's in there?"

"The souls of all the duelists I've defeated," he said in a sinister voice.

"Eek!" she said jumping back.

He laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Just kidding. Perhaps you'll find out what's in here someday. Until then, I think I'll keep it a secret, just because you decided to snoop through my things."

"Oh, alright," she said embarrassed.

"Come on, let's get going. We've got a tournament to be in!"

"Alright!" she said pumping her fist in the air.

* * *

Kokuro: Alright, this time it's my turn to shine!

Mia: Actually, it's mine!

Kokuro: What!

Mia: Yup, it's my turn next, time to take my dueling to the top.

Kokuro: But…main character status…

Mia: Raburomansu returns to challenge me to a friendly duel, but after a while, things begin to get weird.

Mia: Chapter 50: Return of Raburomansu.

Kokuro: Why me? What did I do.

Mia: Maybe next time.

Kokuro: Last times Key Card was Spirit Calling, for just five hundred Life Points every standby phase, Seirei was able to bring out a Spirit Monster during the battle phase to protect herself with. It was a pretty problematic card.

Sonomi: Today's key card is Soul of Fire. Sure your opponent gets to draw a card, but I get to burn you for a lot of damage. As you can see, it's truly only good in a true duelists hands, mine.


	50. Return of Raburomansu

Sdrive: Sorry about the delay all, especially to the Dude of Doom. A family issue got in the way of the update, and then preps for this semester, and then the start of it, I just haven't had the chance to do it yet. Still, I hope you all have a Happy Halloween.

* * *

Ra Yellow:

Chapter 50

Return of Raburomansu

In a dark chamber, the dark man sat before Peaches, whom was waiting impatiently. "When can we begin the next phase?" Peaches asked annoyed. "I haven't had any satisfying victories as of late."

"Patience," the tired voice said. "If we cannot obtain what we seek easily, the attack will follow. In the mean time, I've got plans." He snapped his fingers and a dark vortex opened in front of him and a hooded figure emerged from it. "I want you to go and test our friend."

"It would be my pleasure," the figure said as the vortex re-emerged swallowing him.

The figure looked up at a dark cloud hanging in the ceiling and chuckled. "Soon, with your help, all shall understand…"

* * *

"Silent Swordsman LV5, wipe out his Life Points!" Mia called out as her swordsman jumped up and slashed an Osiris Red knocking him to the ground. "You've been leveled up!" she said giving her peace sign.

"Fair game," the boy said smiling. "You're strong."

"I do my best!" she grinned. "Thanks for the duel," she waved as her counter went up on her duel disk. She started heading off when she heard clapping. She turned to see Raburomansu, the owner of the clapping noise.

"Raburomansu!" she gasped looking at him. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"Too long if you ask me," Raburo said chuckling. He pushed himself off the tree and walked over to her. "You seem to be holding your own in the tournament."

"Yup," she said. She tried to sound cheerful but was secretly a little cautious around him.

"You're holding back," he frowned. "You think I'm still after you don't you."

Mia's eyes widened, she knew she was caught. Meekly she nodded her head, "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't assume anything…"

"It's fine," he said laughing. "I'd be worried about it too actually."

"Really?" she asked.

"Totally," he said pulling a card from his deck. "I mean, can you honestly trust a guy with this dude in his deck," he said holding up Saggi.

"You've still got that in your deck?" she asked laughing.

"Of course, he's my trump card," he laughed.

Mia could imagine Saggi standing behind him, looking over Raburo's shoulder and laughing insanely, and evilly."

"I guess he is," she said a chuckling.

"Come on, let me buy you a drink, as a friend," he said.

"I suppose one drink wouldn't hurt," Mia said agreeing.

* * *

The two headed to 'The Simple Spot' where Ami worked. Mia asked about her but found out that she was given leave to participate in the tournament. Raburo bought them each a drink and they sat out on the patio.

"It's a nice day," he said looking out at the ocean.

"Yeah it is," she nodded.

"Hey, I have an idea, let's have a duel," he said looking at her.

"What for?" she asked cautiously.

"A higher rank in the tournament of course," Raburo said laughing. "I've been looking for a strong opponent to test my deck against anyway, and I figured you'd be the perfect duelist. You're strong, so I know it wouldn't be a waste of my time."

"I guess a bit of friendly competition never hurt anyone," she said smiling. "Alright, let's do it."

They set up on the beach, and shuffled their decks sliding them into their duel disks. "Ladies first," Raburo said allowing her the first turn.

"Alright," She said drawing her opening hand. "This should work. I'll summon Silent Swordsman LV3!" she announced as her tiny warrior with green skin appeared on the field. (1000/1000) "I'll set one card under the table and that will end my turn."

"My move," Raburo said drawing his card. "I'll set one card under the table," he announced. "And now I'll summon Saggi the Dark Clown!" Raburo announced as Saggi appeared on the field. "I activate Negative Energy doubling Saggi's attack and defense strength! (600/1500 – 1200/3000) "Saggi, attack Silent Swordsman!"

"I reveal Waboku!" Mia announced as three monks protected the Silent Swordsman from Saggi's attack.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you," Raburo said smiling. "I set another card under the table and I end my turn, and Negative Energy's effect ends; bringing Saggi back to his original attack strength." (600/1500)

"My move," Mia said drawing her next card. "And now my Silent Swordsman LV3 turns into Silent Swordsman LV5!" she announced as her swordsman grew and got stronger in the process. (2300/1000) "Now I'll summon Shining Angel!" she announced as an angel with bright wings appeared on the field. (1400/800)

"I didn't know you had that in your deck," he said.

"I gave my deck quite a modification," Mia grinned. "Now then it's time to attack, Silent Swordsman LV5 attack Saggi!"

"You've revealed my Trap Card," Raburo said darkly as his trap was flipped up. "Crush Card Virus!"

"Crush Card!" Mia gasped as Saggi grew sickly and exploded, revealing multiple germs into the field. Silent Sworldsman LV5 was instantly hit by it, and fell to the ground dead.

"Your angel is safe, but how about the cards in your hand?" he asked. Mia revealed Hane Kuriboh, Silent Swordsman LV7, Silent Magician LV8, and Interdimensional Matter Transporter. "Discard your two Silent monsters," Raburo said as Mia did as she was told.

'He just got rid of my best monsters…' she thought horrified. 'But…where did he get Crush Card?'

"What now?" he asked smirking.

"I attack with Shining Angel!" She announced. Shining Angel rose up and flapped his wings sending quills down upon Raburo.

"Reveal Mirror Force!" he announced as his second trap appeared and a multicolored mirror appeared reflecting the attack and destroying her monster.

"No!" she gasped.

"Since I don't think…no, since I _know _there's nothing left you can do, I'm going to begin my turn." He said drawing. "And what a draw! I summon the Bistro Butcher!" he announced as an evil chef appeared on the field with a large butcher knife. (1800/1000) "It's pretty sad isn't it?" he asked her.

"What is?" she asked.

"Getting crushed by someone with better cards, I mean, Crush Card is just one of many cards I've obtained thanks to this tournament, think of how many rare and valuable cards your friends have gotten."

"I'm sure they got quite a bit," she replied.

"Exactly, and every single one will be used against you."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Both of your closest friends are eliminators," Raburo pointed out. "Do you honestly think that your friendship with them is going to stop them from targeting you?"

"They would never!" Mia yelled at him.

"Can you be so sure?" he asked. "I'm your friend, and I'm targeting you as a test for my deck. Besides, your friends are competitors also, not just eliminators. They know you're strong, and they know you could probably make it to the finals, so why wouldn't they stack a couple cards in their side deck, or even their main deck, specifically to hit you with. Sonomi did it to you once if I recall."

"But they're my friends…" Mia said.

"And what about Yaku?" he asked. "Yaku's in this tournament, and he challenged you for the right to date you on Parent's Night, don't you think that maybe he had a surprise or two waiting?"

"How did you know about…?"

"Let's face it, no matter how much we care about someone, we have to succumb to the feelings we can never face, even if those feelings are those of betrayal. I'm simply trying to warn you, before you get hurt."

"I know that my friends would never hunt me down," Mia shot back. "I appreciate your concern but you _don't _know what you're talking about."

"We'll see," Raburo said snapping his fingers, "Bistro Butcher, attack her points directly!" The butcher ran up to her and slashed her with his butcher knife knocking her down.

Mia: 2200/Raburo: 4000

"Bistro Butcher forces you to draw two cards from your deck, and Crush Card allows me to see them," Raburo said grinning. Mia drew the two cards from her deck, and was upset to see that they were Silent Swordsmen LV's five and seven. She discarded them into the Graveyard and looked helplessly at Raburo. "A pity," Raburo said. "They were both strong cards."

"Just end your turn," Mia said annoyed.

"Don't get mad at me," Raburo said. "It's just a friendly duel, but as we were going at it I thought about your friends and thought I should warn you that they could be after you."

"I assure you they won't."

"If you say so, but ask yourself, have they ever kept any secrets from you?"

"_Perhaps you'll find out what's in here someday. Until then, I think I'll keep it a secret, just because you decided to snoop through my things."_

"Kokuro did keep what was in that box a secret," Mia said aloud thinking back to earlier.

"See," Raburo said. "He doesn't trust you. If he was such a good friend he would tell you. Instead he's hiding it from you, because just like everyone else, he can't trust you."

'He was also upset about me reading his letter, and he said that I was 'snooping through his things,'' Mia gasped. She shook her head, 'No, he was right to reject me from doing that. I shouldn't have been going through his stuff; that was my fault not his.' "He has every right to some privacy, just as much of a right as you or me does!"

"I suppose that's true," Raburo said shrugging. "Still, what I said could also still be true."

"For someone claiming to be my friend, you're not acting like one."

"My apologies," He said putting up his hands in defense. "Maybe I am taking this too far. After all, you know your friends better than I do. It's your move."

"Yes, it is," she said drawing her card.

"Let me see it," he said of her.

She flipped it over, revealing it to be a Marshmallon. "Not going to get hurt by Crush Card," she grinned placing it face down on her duel disk. "One under the table and that ends my turn," she announced as her other card appeared face down as well.

'That face down is her Interdimensional Matter Transporter,' he thought. 'In case I can get rid of Marshmallon after I've flipped it up. Unfortunately for her I have other plans for that.' He drew his card and smirked. "Nobleman of Crossout!" he announced as Marshmallon's monster card was immediately destroyed.

"No way!" Mia gasped.

"Now, Bistro Butcher, attack her Life Points once more!" Bistro Butcher jumped forward and slashed Mia again.

Mia: 400/Raburomansu: 4000

"Draw the next two cards of your deck," Raburo commanded her. She drew into Silent Magician LV4 and Wings of Evolution. "Nothing huh?" he said sliding a card into his Duel Disk. "One under for later and that ends my turn."

"My move," Mia said drawing and revealing Level Modulation. "I set one monster face down and two cards under the table!" she announced as the two cards appeared face down. "End turn."

"My move," Raburo said drawing. "And I summon Giragado!" he announced as an evil looking machine creature appeared on the field. (1700/1000) "Giragado, destroy her Hane Kuriboh!"

Mia twitched for a moment, 'He knew what was in my hand, everything…he should have seen this coming!' "Reveal my face down Wings of Evolution!" she announced as her spell card flipped up. "I ditch two cards in my hand," she said discarding Silent Magician LV4 and Level Modulation, "And Hane Kuriboh is going to get a huge boost!"

"That's what you think," Raburo said revealing his own face down. "Magic Jammer!"

"No!" Mia gasped. 'He _did _see it coming!'

"I only drop one card," Raburo said ditching it. "And your Wings of Evolution will not take effect!" The Giragado destroyed Hane Kuriboh without much difficulty once its wings stopped glowing. "Your Kuriboh's ability stops me from being able to do any other battle damage this turn so I'll simply end it.

"My move," Mia said drawing.

"Let me see it," Raburo said.

"Nope," Mia grinned.

"Why not?" Raburo asked.

"Because you activated Crush Card during _my _turn, and the countdown timer is during my turn. So technically, my last turn was its last turn as well," Mia grinned. "But if you really want to see my card…I play Pot of Greed!" Mia said drawing twice. "Go Revive Dead!" she announced as her Silent Swordsman LV5 reappeared on the field. "And now Level Up!" she called out as she slid in her other spell card. Her swordsman instantly began to shine and grow as its attack power rose. (2800/1000)

"No!" Raburo gasped.

"This is the strength of my friends," Mia said glaring at him. "Just like my Level Monsters, my friends will always be there for me, and they'll always come through for me in the end!"

"It'd like to see that set in stone," Raburo said glaring at her swordsman. "For you see, I know your little secret."

"And what secret is that?" Mia asked.

"The secret behind you and your swordsman cards," Raburo said.

"Impossible," she gasped.

"Tell me, do you keep that little secret from your friends?" Raburo asked.

"O…of course! They wouldn't understand!"

"That's what you tell yourself," Raburo said. "But even as you know Kokuro's keeping a secret from you, that he thinks you wouldn't be able to understand, you're doing the same, even though you tell him that you'd be able to help him with it."

"How do you know all this?" she demanded of him.

"That doesn't concern you," he grinned. "But I know the secret behind your swordsman, you might even be able to say that I can see it clearly."

Mia thought back to how she thought of Raburo and his Saggi, and instantly glared at him, "That's how you know," she said angered.

"We're a lot alike you and I. I always knew there was something that attracted me to you," he chuckled. "But only recently have I realized it, with a little help."

"Well allow me to knock that help away! Silent Swordsman LV7, destroy Giragado!" she announced. Silent Swordsman LV7 leapt forwards and slashed Giragado destroying it instantly.

Mia: 400/Raburo: 2900

"It's your move," Mia glared.

"I give up," he said shrugging placing his hand over his deck.

"Why!"

"Because, I have nothing but spells in my hand, I can't come back from that," Raburo said shrugging. "So you win. But your victory only means that you come closer to having to face your deceitful friends. But I've said enough. Go ahead and run away."

"You realize you've lost your only chance with me right," she said backing up.

"I'm sure I've got another," he grinned.

"No, you don't," she said turning around and running.

Raburo grinned evilly and a black vortex emerged around him swallowing him up.

Raburo exited the vortex in the pitch black room where the dark figure sat. He bowed down and smirked. "I dueled her just like you asked. And I got her to start doubting her friends."

"Excellent," he said semi-pleased. "But tell me, why didn't you finish the duel?"

"Like I told her, I had nothing but spells in my hand," Raburo said.

"Then you force her into a position where she has to retreat her monster," Peaches said from a dark corner of the room. Raburo could only see his silhouette and his sick yellow eyes.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"The girl had four hundred points, and you had a Hinotama magic card in your hand, you force her into a position with a trap card that would have forced her to use her Interdimensional Matter Transporter to save her monster and then blast her with your spell card. You could have completed your mission in its entirety!"

"You told me that all I had to do was mess with her mind!" Raburo said.

"And you did," the master said in his tired voice. "But you took the easy way out." He waved his hand and the cloud above them spit out two dark chains. They shot through Raburo's body making him shriek in pain. After a moment his body vanished and the chains retreated back into the cloud which grew slightly.

Mia ran through the island back towards the main entrance to the academy. She caught her breath and looked around for someone she thought she could trust. She was tapped on her shoulder and she turned around and saw Kokuro standing behind her. "What's up?" he asked. "You look exhausted."

"Raburomansu challenged me to a duel…" she said gasping for breath. "And then he started acting like a total freak. He forfeited the duel and I ran as fast as I could, afraid he was going to try something."

"Don't worry," he said putting his hand on her shoulder. "If he comes after you, I'll protect you, and I don't mean in just a duel."

"Thanks," she said leaning into him. Her body was shaking, and Kokuro wrapped his arms around her and drew her into a comforting hug. He shushed her and let her cry into his chest. After a moment she wiped away the tears. "I think I want some lunch."

"Come on, I'll buy for you, my treat."

"Thanks," she replied solemnly. They started into the academy when Mia asked, "Would you ever try to eliminate me from the tournament?"

"Why would you ask that?" Kokuro asked.

"I just…I just need to know."

"Of course not," he reassured her.

"Good," she said breathing a little easier.

"What brought that on?" he asked.

Mia thought about telling Kokuro about Raburo, but decided against it, "You know, don't want you're power going to your head."

"Not against you," he smiled. "Come on."

"Right," she nodded, but even then she wasn't totally reassured.

* * *

Hikari: It sounds like the weather's getting harsh, or it could just be from a duel though.

???: You would only be so lucky.

Hikari: Who's there!

???: Come now, you don't remember me?

Hikari: Wait a minute, I remember this voice. It can't be…you're…

???: Next chapter, Hikari Vs. ???. Be prepared.

Hikari: You'll pay.

Kokuro: Today's key card is Crush Card Virus. It's a devastating trap card used by Seto Kaiba himself. It can greatly change the flow of a duel, so be careful if facing it.


	51. Hikari Vs Ender

Sdrive: A couple of announcements, first, if you haven't checked my bio before reading this duel, go do it before you review, it contains info that will affect the future of this story. Second, I know I misplayed with a certain phoenix card halfway through the duel, part of it I believe was not knowing what it did and part of it was me needing to take some writers authority for the duel. (which again only further proves my issues stated in my bio, hence why you should go read it, before or after this chapter and include your response in there.)

Finally, I had a sub-plot kind of brewing for the next chapter that would have made a small impact on the story (nothing huge overall I assure you), which I'm sure I'll still keep in there only for the next chapter, but it'll probably be lost so I may rework it and I may not, but I don't know how it will really work out based on the duel issues you'll read about, (again, in the bio.)

Finally, sorry this took so long. Again, you'll read all the issues in the bio, but for now, I plan on definetly still continuing. And maybe even with some added vigor, seeing as how I just finished the layout for a really epic duel that will be coming out in a couple of chapters. A small hint to that duel is even given in this chapter, anyone who can figure it out will be rewarded at the time of that duel, (with a hand clap, :P ) Anyway, I hope you all enjoy.

(Also, I'm not sticking to the current ban list for the most part. That doesn't mean I'm going to spam Raigeki constantly, but as of the time this duel was written, Heavy Storm was not banned and another card was not limited, so please don't mention that since I know that already.

* * *

Ra Yellow

Chapter 51

Hikari Vs. Ender

The dark master was sitting in his room growling slightly. "What's your issue?" Peaches asked him.

"That fool could have had the girl if it weren't for his stupidity," the master said holding up Giragado, Crush Card, and the other cards he had lent to Raburomansu for his duel against Mia.

"He was a weakling anyway, he deserved his fate," Peaches said emerging from the shadows. "What's the next course of action?"

"I'm going to dispatch Ender," the figure said as another dark vortex appeared and a man in a leather jacket, black pants and black hair appeared from the vortex. On his arm was a black duel disk.

"I can't thank you enough for this," Ender said extending his arm as another dark vortex appeared in front of him. He stepped through it and appeared on another side of the room, and then walked through it again and appeared in front of the master again.

"You know what you must do if you wish to keep those powers," the master said to him.

"Not an issue at all," Ender replied.

"Don't be so sure," Peaches said extending his hand and a dark bordered image appeared in front of Ender. "This is the guard."

Ender looked at the image and smirked when he saw Professor Hikari sitting in a chair bored. "Hikari," a devious smile grew on his face, one that some might call a look of madness, "You truly are a man of your word," he said to the master.

"Do I have your guarantee that you will take care of him?" the master asked.

"It's my pleasure," Ender said creating a vortex making him vanish.

"I will accompany him now to make sure he won't screw up," Peaches said vanishing into the shadows.

The master pulled out a silver crook and looked at it, "Now to see if you can do what they say you can…" the crook began to shine with a bright silver light.

* * *

Mia and Kokuro exited the academy and Mia looked much better. "Thank you so much," she said looking at Kokuro. "I truly mean it."

"No problem," Kokuro said smiling at her. "I should probably get going, I haven't fought in a single duel yet."

"You're going to get left behind," Mia gasped. The two heard an explosion and nodded at each other. They ran off to find out what was going on.

They got to the site of the explosion and saw Sonomi finishing up a duel against another Obelisk Blue. His tournament points went down to zero as hers rose up. "Serves you right," she said grinning.

"Well look whose well on her way to winning this thing," Kokuro said laughing.

Sonomi turned around when she heard Kokuro and looked at the pair, "Hi," she said.

"You do seem to be doing really well," Mia said happy for her.

"It's nothing," Sonomi said grinning. "I'm just better than them all."

"No doubt there," Kokuro said laughing. A cold burst of wind filled the air around them and they all started to shiver. "What was that?" he asked.

"I have no idea," Sonomi said.

"Look you guys!" Mia said pointing to the east.

The trio looked up at the sky and saw an enormous dark cloud coming right towards the island. "What the hell?" Sonomi asked.

"I've got no idea," Kokuro said looking at it. A small chill ran through his body, "But I don't think its good news at all."

"Me neither," Sonomi said. "It almost seems like it's going to snow, which is weird, it's too early for snow." She shivered as another burst of wind hit them. "It is quite cold," Sonomi shuddered. "As if you didn't know, I much prefer the warmth."

"We could be having an early winter…" Mia pondered before walking off towards the clouds.

Kokuro stuttered for a moment before asking, "Do…do you want to borrow my blazer?" he asked. "It's probably warmer than that kimono you're wearing."

Sonomi looked over at the blazer then up at Kokuro, "It's not that cold," she said under her breath when suddenly another burst of wind went rippling through the air causing her to shiver much harder.

"That's it," Kokuro said taking off his blazer and wrapping it around her shoulders.

"I'm fine!" she growled. "Besides, if you give this to me, you'll be freezing."

"Uh uh, you're wearing less protection than I am," he said.

"What about Mia?" She asked looking into his eyes for some hesitation.

"See for yourself," he said pointing kind of disgusted.

They turned their heads to see Mia screaming to the clouds. "Come on! Bring on a big storm! I wanna play in the snow! Snow already darn you!"

"I think she'll be fine," Kokuro said laughing.

"Looks like it," Sonomi said chuckling slightly as she tugged the blazer closer around her. "Th…thanks," she said turning red.

"Not a problem," Kokuro said smiling as he began to shiver slightly.

"I told you," she said getting annoyed at him.

"It's no big deal!" he said reassuringly.

"You're not really keeping your promise of keeping your distance by doing this, you realize that right?" she asked staring at him.

He shrugged, "Maybe not, but I don't care."

Sonomi was about to butt in when an announcement came over the intercom, "Attention Students!" It was Kaiba's voice. "Due to the freak impending weather, we're canceling the required duels until the storm passes. The tournament will proceed once the storm passes. Go to your respective dorms or the main academy building and wait out the weather. Tournament duels may take place in the lobby or in the arena's if you so choose, but you are no longer required to duel for the day."

"What happened to the Seto Kaiba who would have demanded that _every _duelist duel in the snow?" Sonomi asked. Then, in her best Kaiba voice she could muster, "The strong winds and cold air will test your strength and stamina, if you can't take it, you don't belong here."

Kokuro started laughing hard, "yeah," ne nodded. "Except Kaiba is the headmaster at this school now, he can't afford the student's lives. In a lot of ways, opening this Academy helped him grow."

"I guess," She shrugged. "So much for Mia playing in the snow," Sonomi said looking out at her.

"Yeah really," Kokuro replied.

Mia stormed passed them angry, "Stupid Kaiba, never letting me have any fun."

Sonomi and Kokuro couldn't help but laugh at her and follow her into the building. Moments after they entered the building it began to hail outside.

* * *

"Sounds like the weather really got harsh," Professor Hikari thought reading a magazine. He could hear the howl of the wind through the walls, and he knew that it must have been pretty bad. Suddenly the lights were cut off. "Damn!" He cursed. "The power must have been knocked out!"

He got closer to the vault, out of nothing but pure instinct, and then stood his ground, waiting for his eyes to adjust. 'Not a problem,' he thought to himself. 'The Backup Generator will kick in any minute now and then there won't be anything to worry about.'

As he stood there waiting, he heard footsteps coming from the other end of the hallway. "Who's there?" The footsteps kept getting closer, and he got irritated, "Don't come any closer."

"Or you'll do what?" a sinister voice asked.

"I'm warning you," Hikari began to get into a defensive pose.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it my old apprentice?"

The comment and the voice combined in Hikari's mind, "I…I know that voice!" he gasped.

"If you're waiting for the backup generator, you may as well forget it," the voice said. "My associate already cut the power to that as well. Everyone in the academy is probably suspecting the storm is to blame for the power outage. They'll never figure it out until it's too late."

"Ku…Kumori, is that you?" Hikari asked.

The steps stopped momentarily, "You remember my name after all these years?" the voice asked. "I'm impressed, even if I don't go by that name any longer. Now they call me Ender."

"What are you doing here?" Hikari asked. "I thought you were locked up."

"I was," he said as two lights, one over Hikari and one over Ender came on. Ender was about twenty years older than Hikari, with slick brown hair running down the back of the dark cape he was wearing. His cold purple eyes stared intently at Hikari, his mouth creased into a smirk. "But I got out."

"What are you doing here?" Hikari asked him.

"Same as you I suppose, I'm here to teach some lessons."

"The classrooms are upstairs," Hikari growled.

"I thought I took a wrong turn," Ender chuckled and pretended to look around. "It doesn't matter though, my dream of teaching the world of science and other matters is gone, and it went to someone else. Funny, I can't seem to remember their name."

"You know I had absolutely no choice," Hikari growled. "You were searching for something better left gone. Your lectures would have been nothing but ones of darkness."

"If I remember correctly, although you were my assistant you didn't believe in the powers of darkness," Ender said. "You thought I was a fool in search of nothing but his own oblivion."

"I may not have believed, but it was the only hope I had left of trying to find my father. One man gone missing, a body never found, no indication of any sort of crime. Sending one's body to another dark dimension was the perfect crime," Hikari glared at Ender. "A crime I know you somehow committed."

"Just because he went missing while he was my assistant?" Ender asked with a fake shocked voice. "Just because all it would have taken was one minor miscalculation with the portable device I was trying to develop that would summon the Shadow Realm? Just because I had most of the device completed before you even joined me, even though I said I had just started building it?"

"That single miscalculation might have cost my father his life!" Hikari shouted at him.

"I doubt that," Ender said grinning. "No, instead his soul is simply wandering the dark realm, trying to find an exit that will never come to him just so he can try to get home to his son."

"Shut up!" Hikari growled.

"I wonder if he even knows how much time has passed? He's probably still expecting to come home to a mere teenager."

"Be silent!" Hikari shouted once more.

"It's his own fault he shouldn't have snooped through my files and found out exactly how dangerous our research was. I was willing to take the risk, but he wasn't. So he had to be involved in a misfortunate accident that cost him his soul. It really is quite a shame," Ender sighed. "He was such a better assistant than you ever were."

"You're sick!" Hikari growled.

"I'm sick? I'm the one who promised to do everything in my power to find your father should we be able to perfect the device. I'm the one that gave you the Angel Deck and started you in the game of Duel Monsters."

"You lied to me about my father experimenting with the device himself and the Angel Deck you gave me was crap," Hikari growled.

"And yet, both inspired you to gain intelligence, and become the amazing strategist that you are today. Even with your losses against that girl Sonomi and that Kokuro boy, you are considered the second best duelist in the entire school, right below Seto Kaiba himself."

"They're both students, of course my rank is higher than theirs, but none of that matters to me. I could have been a Pro League duelist, I could have taught at any number of top notch colleges around the world. But I chose to come teach the game Duel Monsters here. I gave up a number of good positions and opportunities. Do you know why?"

"Enlighten me," Ender smirked.

"It's because I realized that people like you could one day bring forth the darkness of the Shadow Realm that Yugi Mouto himself locked up again all those years ago. I've been training these students to be their very best for years, in hopes that one day, if anyone ever did succeed in re-summoning that dark realm, the duelists of that time period would be wise enough to overcome any challenge, and lock it up again. That is why I teach here. It's not for personal fame or glory, it's to stop freaks like you."

"I'm hurt," Ender said putting his hand over his heart. "I thought after all this time I could actually make you my assistant once more. I thought you would have realized by now that it would be possible to control the magic of the Shadow Realm. As you said, Yugi Mouto himself locked it away, the only way to do that is to control it."

"Anyone who tries to control the Shadow Realm will end up being swallowed by it in the end," Hikari said simply.

"How about we have a duel to test that theory?" Ender said holding up his duel disk which unfolded.

"Fine by me," Hikari said loading his deck into his duel disk. 'I could hit the switch which would alert Kaiba of Kumori,' Hikari thought, 'but this is my only chance to get revenge for my father.'

"Oh, and one more thing, I'm going to take this duel to the very dark realm that your father suffers in!" Ender said pulling a hand held device out of his leather jacket. "Behold, the prototype for my Shadow Summoner!"

"What…what is that?" Hikari gasped.

"I just told you, it's the prototype for my Shadow Summoner," Ender said annoyed. "But also it's the beginning of your demise," Ender grinned as he clicked a red button on his device. The device shot out a dark light into the center of their dueling field and a bubble of dark energy formed and surrounded them, creating a purple mist all around them.

"Impossible," Hikari said shocked.

Outside of the dark energy Peaches stood in the corner chuckling. 'I've held up my part of the bargain. Now, to find what I'm after.' He vanished through the darkness, into the card vault.

"How…is this possible?" Hikari asked him.

"For one or two small favors, I'm getting everything I've ever wanted in life!" Ender said looking around the dark realm.

"I don't know how you unlocked the seal, but I'll personally be the key to relocking it," Hikari said as their Life Points appeared.

"Best of luck my old pupil!" Ender mocked.

Hikari: 4000/Ender: 4000

"I'll be making the first move," Hikari said drawing his six cards. "I'll begin by summoning Kaiser Seahorse in attack mode," Hikari announced as Kaiser Seahorse appeared on the field, with its scepter in its hand. (1700/1000) "I'll set a card under the table and end my turn."

"It's my move," Ender announced drawing his card. "By discarding my Vanities Fiend," he dropped the card into his graveyard. "I'm allowed to special summon my Dark Grepher!" Ender announced as a dark looking monster appeared on the field. (1700/1000) "Now, I can discard another dark monster from my hand, to send one dark monster from my deck to the graveyard," he said as he took one card from his hand and discarded it. He leafed through his deck until he found a suitable card and slid it into his graveyard.

"What's the meaning of this?" Hikari asked.

"You'll see," Ender grinned. "Next I activate the Allure of Darkness," he said as the shadowy card appeared on the field. "I get to draw two cards, but I must remove a dark monster from play or else I have to discard my entire hand." Ender drew twice and then showed Hikari a Kuriboh and placed it into his pocket. "Next I summon Vorse Raider," Ender announced as the beast type monster with the large axe appeared on the field. (1900/1200) "Vorse Raider, wipe out his Kaiser Seahorse."

"Not so fast," Hikari said revealing his face down card. "Enemy controller, I switch your Vorse Raider on guard."

Ender chuckled as a giant game controller shot out a wire at Vorse Raider forcing it to switch positions and the attack blocked. "I suspected as much. After all, why leave a monster that can bring forth your favorite card out to be destroyed?"

'He saw right through my strategy,' Hikari thought staring at Seiyaryu.

"If you forgot, I taught you everything you knew about this game. You're a good strategist, but I'm better." He took a card from his hand and slid it into his duel disk. "I'll throw a card under the table and end my turn. Do you see it yet? The unlimited power of darkness?"

"I see a fool who's going to wish he never dabbled in that dark magic," Hikari said drawing. "And I don't care if you saw through my strategy, you still can't stop it! I sacrifice Kaiser Seahorse, using its ability to count as two monsters for a light attribute summoning, and I bring forth Seiyaryu!" (2500/2100) The blue armored sea monster vanished as the pink dragon rose up in a surge of emerald flames.

"Your favorite," Ender grinned. "Just as I predicted."

"Seiyaryu wipe out his Dark Grepher!" Hikari commanded. Seiyaryu rose up and shot out an emerald fire stream from its mouth right for the Dark Grepher. Ender's graveyard began to shine and a transparent warrior appeared on the field and blocked the attack. "What did you do?" Hikari demanded.

"That's the ability of my Necro Gardna," Ender grinned. "I can remove it from my graveyard to cancel the attack of one of my opponent's monsters. I told you, I'm the better strategist."

"I end my turn," Hikari growled.

"It's my move," Ender grinned drawing a card. "I discard yet another dark type from my hand in order to send another from my deck to the graveyard," he said as he discarded one card from his hand and dropped another from his deck into the graveyard.

'This again…' Hikari growled.

"Now, I activate Card of Sanctity," Ender said. "We each draw…

"Until we hold six cards, I know," Hikari said as they drew their cards.

* * *

Inside the card vault, Peaches was having no luck finding what he was looking for. He was in the middle of looking over a display case when he heard an ear piercing scream from outside. "Sounds like things are beginning to get interesting," he said. "That fool is beginning to realize that this duel might be his last. He waved his hand and shadows began to form next to him, and a vision of the duel started showing through them. "A little entertainment might help lower the dullness of this search," Peaches said laughing.

* * *

"I want full power restored to the Academy immediately!" Kaiba roared at a team that was in the basement of the academy trying to find the cause of the power outage.

"We're trying sir," a technician replied. "But the generator seems fine. And the Duel Disk operation system is also working."

"Of course," Kaiba said annoyed. "The Duel Disks operate using the Kaiba Corporation's satellite. A power outage here wouldn't affect anything other than the Duel Arena's. That does not change the fact that I want power restored right now!"

"We're running diagnostic checks on the machine now," the technician replied. "Please be patient."

"If you don't have this thing running in the next thirty minutes, you're all fired and I'll replace you with mechanics that can actually do their job!" Kaiba said turning around leaving before they could respond.

'This isn't just because of the snow storm,' Kaiba thought walking. 'There's more to this.' He pulled out the silver shining key he had placed around his neck, 'I hate it when you're right Yugi,' he growled walking up the steps.

* * *

Hikari watched as Ender looked over his six new cards. In the mean time Hikari had already figured out his next move, and all other possibilities in case Ender had anything tricky up his sleeve.

"I always taught you to think ahead and plan out all possibilities. I've got the next 3 moves planned out with my hand right now, how many moves in advance do you have planned out?"

"I'm not telling," Hikari growled, not buying into Ender's bluff.

Ender grinned. "I suspect you have five, so let's get a new one with Card Destruction!" He revealed his face down Card Destruction.

'Damn him,' Hikari thought sliding his cards into the graveyard and drawing six new ones as Ender did the same. 'He's doing it again, just like he used to…'

"Perfect," Ender grinned. "I sacrifice Vorse Raider!" Vorse Raider vanished into the darkness as a dark version of one of Hikari's monsters appeared on the field. "I summon Darknight Parshath!" Ender grinned. (1900/1400) "And here's his ability, he gains 100 attack points for every dark monster in my graveyard. "Through my last couple of moves I've managed to get nine monsters in my graveyard." Dark Knight Parshath began glowing a dark purple and its attack power rose. (2800/1400)

"It's stronger than Seiyaryu now!" Hikari gasped.

"That's what always separated our strategies, I plan for the long run," Ender grinned. "Darknight Parshath wipe out his dragon!"

Darknight Parshath trotted over towards Seiyaryu and swung its sword at the dragon chopping it in half. Hikari watched in horror as his dragon fell to the ground dead. He then felt a sharp pain in his shoulder as his Life Points lowered.

Hikari: 3700/Ender: 4000

"Dark Grepher, attack my former student directly!" Dark Grepher ran forward and slashed his sword across Hikari. A rip appeared in his flesh as the sword made contact. Hikari yelled out an ear piercing scream as he clutched his arm, trying to stop the bleeding.

Hikari: 2000/Ender: 4000

"You…sick…ba…" Hikari growled from the pain.

"You didn't think I had really brought the realism of the Shadow Realm here did you?" Ender laughed sinisterly. "Well I have, and you're very life is at stake here."

"I…will defeat you," Hikari said clutching his arm.

"Darknight Parshath's special ability!" Ender called out. "I remove a dark type in my graveyard in order to draw one card!" he drew the card and smirked. "I'll set it face down and end my turn," Ender said as the card appeared in front of him. (Darknight: 2700)

'If I'm going to beat him, I need a better strategy,' Hikari thought pulling a card from his deck. 'This might work,' he grinned. "I'll throw two cards under the table," Hikari announced, "And I'll summon out Thunder King Rai-Oh!" he announced as a blue monster with rods for arms and legs appeared with lightning shooting out of it appeared on the field. (1900/800) "Finally, I'll activate Sealing Swords of Light!" A ray of swords fell down over Ender causing a blaring light. "That ends my turn."

"Not quite yet," Ender said as his face down was flipped. "Trap Card Open! Dust Tornado! Wipe out these swords!" A burst of wind came around Ender blowing away Hikari's shining swords. "Too bad," he said drawing. "Ah perfect. I activate Reinforcement of the Army."

"Not so fast!" Hikari grinned as the Thunder King began to glow. "Thunder King makes it so we can't take cards from our deck without drawing them regularly!" Thunder King shot out a bolt of lightning which shattered the spell card.

"You'll pay for that," Ender growled. He looked down at Hikari's two face down cards and paused. "I was hoping to save this but I don't trust your face downs," he said as he slid a card into his duel disk. "I activate Foolish Burial. I discard Android Psycho Shocker – Returner from my deck to the graveyard!" he announced as he took a card from his deck and slid it into his Graveyard Slot. His graveyard began to shine and an Android Psycho Shocker appeared on the field. (2400/1500)

"What?" Hikari gasped as the Android appeared on the field.

"When Psycho - Returner is sent to the graveyard, it brings Android Psycho Shocker back from the Graveyard, and I just happened to have one in there thanks to Card Destruction." He stopped and looked down at his disk, "It is called Psycho 'Returner' after all. Now, it's time to win this duel! Android Psycho Shocker, destroy Thunder King!" The android created a ball of energy in its hands and fired it at the Thunder King destroying it. The rest of the blast went on to strike Hikari who yelled out in pain.

Hikari: 1500/Ender: 4000

"Darknight Parshath, finish this duel!" Ender commanded. Dark Knight Parshath trotted over and readied his sword, "Good bye, my old apprentice." The Knight brought down his sword when a Hane Kuriboh suddenly jumped up and took the blast. "What?"

Hikari pointed at one of his reversed cards, Kuriboh Calling Flute. "Hane Kuriboh will save my Life Points for this round."

"I should have known," Ender growled. "I end my turn." Android Psycho Shocker started to malfunction and destroyed itself. Darknight: (2800/1400)

"Looks like your Psycho – Returners ability took down your Psycho Shocker," Hikari said drawing.

"I only said it would return, not for how long," Ender shrugged.

"You always have to try to find a joke in something," Hikari growled.

"I'm a funny guy, not as funny as you at the moment, seeing as how your dueling is the real joke here."

"You'll regret those words," Hikari said looking down at his hand. "Just in time," Hikari grinned. "I activate Vanhalla, Hall of the Fallen!" Hikari announced as the spell card appeared on the field. "Once per turn, if I control no monsters, I can special summon one Fairy – Type monster from my hand to the field. Now rise, Guardian Angel Joan!" Hikari announced as the Guardian Angel appeared on the field in a heavenly ray of light. (2800/2000) "Guardian Angel Joan, martyr yourself by destroying Darknight Parshath!" The two great forces, Light and Dark, collided together and both monsters were destroyed by the chaos that ensued.

"Fool, you've just destroyed your best monster," Ender said.

"But it came with a bonus," Hikari said as a ball of light transferred to his chest and healed the wound he had been protecting.

Hikari: 4300/Ender: 4000

"Joan's healing ability, of course," Ender agreed. "More than restoring your Life Points, it saved your life."

"It was well worth the price paid."

* * *

Inside the vault, Peaches was getting very angry. He had only explored the first quarter of the room, and things weren't going Ender's way. "That fool lost his edge and I'm not done yet. He had better not lose before I finish this task. He waved his hand and another vision showing shadow appeared next to him, one that showed Kaiba talking with Seirei. "I knew I should have banished her when I had the chance," he growled.

* * *

Kaiba was sitting in Seirei's private room. It was a special room in the Obelisk Blue Female Dorm. There was incense burning, and there was a small altar in the very front of the room. Light blue veils went from the ceiling to the ground around the altar. The entire room was marble, and there were many candles around the room. There was a large bed in the back of the room, and there were multiple plants planted in pots. Multiple paintings of Shinto Gods were hung around the room.

"I've located him," Seirei told Kaiba. "He's in the card vault as we speak."

"I had a feeling he would be there," Kaiba growled. "Hikari must not have seen him go in, or there would have been an alarm already. However, I'm beginning to think our generator problems might not be mechanical."

Seirei nodded and looked at him, "There is a magical barrier around it preventing the flow of electricity from passing. I can break it if you take me there, but I'm sure you want me to face off against Peaches again."

"No, I want the generator restored, if you can," he growled.

"But what about…"

"What he's seeking isn't in the vault any longer," Kaiba growled.

Seirei nodded, "I thought I sensed something around you," she started smiling when she finished her sentence.

"Let's just go," he growled.

* * *

"I'm placing one monster on guard to end my turn," Hikari said as a horizontal card appeared in front of him.

"My move," Ender said drawing. "Well, I've pulled yet another Dark Counterpart, I sacrifice Dark Grepher to summon with only one tribute, Darklord Zerato!" A sinister looking creature with dark bat like wings and a shiny curved sword appeared on the field. (2800/2300) "He can be summoned for only one tribute if I have more than four different dark types in my graveyard. And now for his ability, I discard one dark type monster from my hand in order for him to destroy all your monsters on the field!"

Darklord Zerato raised his sword causing dark lightning to shoot out from it and strike Hikari's face down monster. "Darklord Zerato, attack the player!"

Hikari looked at the blood on the ground in front of him, 'I just recovered, I can't take another sword strike!' "Trap card open!" he shouted. "Sealing Sword Revival! If Sealing Swords of Light were destroyed before the three turns were up, this negates all battles your monsters conduct this turn and allows me to draw two cards as long as I remove Sealing Swords from play!"

Hikari's Graveyard shined and his magic card slid out as he placed it in his pocket. Six Shining swords appeared around him and blocked Darklord Zerato's attack. Relieved to not being attacked, he drew his two cards gratefully.

"The darkness really does scare you," Ender commented. "The more strategic move would have been to take the damage and wait until I had more monsters on the field, but you couldn't handle the realism of this duel."

"You're right," Hikari said ashamed.

Ender simply smirked, "I know I am. Darklord Zerato forces itself to be destroyed at the end of the turn he used his destruction ability!" Ender called out as his Darklord vanished. "Your move."

"Draw!" Hikari announced. "I summon Voltic Kong!" Hikari called out as an ape surrounding itself with electricity appeared on the field. (1800/1000) "Voltic Kong, attack the player!"

"I remove from play the monster I discarded through Darklord Zerato's ability, go Necro Gardna!" The transparent warrior appeared once again to block the attack that Hikari's Voltic Kong was about to release on Ender. The surge of lightning passed around Ender harmlessly as he laughed. "How horrible it must feel to know that I'm still a step ahead of you!"

"Just go," Hikari growled placing a card face down in his Duel Disk.

"With pleasure!" Ender said drawing. "I remove two dark types from my graveyard," Ender said as two cards slid out of his graveyard and he put them in his pocket. "Come forth, Dark Nephthys!" Black flames appeared in front of Ender and the dark version of Sonomi's favorite monster rose to the field in a rage. It flapped its wings wildly causing the dark fire to burn Hikari's face down card to cinders. "By removing two dark types from the grave Dark Nephthys is special summoned to the field and burns away one spell or trap you have!" Ender laughed.

'He destroyed Negate Attack!' Hikari growled.

"Dark Nephthys, wipe out Voltic Kong!" The dark phoenix flapped its wings once more, causing black flames to engulf the ape burning it alive as they continued to go on and surround Hikari. Parts of his skin were burned as he fell to the ground.

Hikari: 3700/Ender: 4000

"Here's an idea," Ender said looking at Hikari's shaking body. "If you somehow manage to defeat me, you can give up teaching and go be a dentist like you always wanted before meeting me."

"How would that save the world from the rest of the people like you?" Hikari asked viciously.

"The radiance of their teeth," Ender laughed. "It's over to you."

"My move," Hikari said drawing. "I activate Vanhalla, to allow me to special summon Majestic Mech – Ohka!" he called out as a large griffin like mecha appeared on the field. (2400/1400) "Next I equip it with Lucky Iron Axe!" he called out as the griffin took hold of an axe. (2900/1400) "Majestic Mech, attack!" The griffin released a burst of light that struck down the phoenix.

Hikari: 3700/Ender: 3500

"Impressive," Ender commented. "You used Vanhalla so that Ohka won't be destroyed."

"Exactly," Hikari grinned. "It's your move."

"So it is," he said drawing a card. "Oh, this is perfect."

"What?" Hikari asked.

"My credit report, it's just perfect. What did you think I was talking about?" Hikari growled as Ender slapped a card onto his disk. "Since I have more than five Dark monsters in my grave, I can special summon this, The Dark Creator!" A large towering figure appeared. It looked much like The Creator but the orange on its body was much darker, and it seemed much more evil. (2300/3000) "Now, I remove one Dark type monster from my Graveyard," he watched as one of his cards slid out, "And I special summon back Dark Nephthy's from the graveyard!" Dark Nephtyhys reappeared on the field, screeching as the black flames around it shot out at the Axe that Ohka was holding. (2400/1000)

"Since you destroyed Lucky Iron Axe with a card effect, I draw one more card," Hikari said pulling a card from his deck.

"Nephthys, ram into the Mech!" Ender called out. The two charged each other and collided destroying each other. "Dark Creator, attack with Negative Light!" Inverted Light shot out from the creator's mouth and slammed into Hikari. He called out in pain as he felt like his soul was leaving his body.

Hikari: 1400/Ender: 3500

"That ends my turn," Ender laughed.

'I need the right card now, or I'm finished,' Hikari thought drawing his card. "I play Pot of Greed," he announced drawing two cards. 'This might just work. If he's doing what I think he's doing, I may be able to win this after all.' "I call upon the powers of Vanhalla once more, to special summon this, Splendid Venus!" Suddenly a heavenly angel appeared on the field with a large staff in her hand. (2800/2400) "Now, all non-fairy type monsters lose five hundred life points." He watched as the light weakened The Dark Creator. (1800/3000)

"Curse that foul light," Ender growled.

"Splendid Venus, wipe out that corrupted monster!" Splendid Venus raised her staff and a pure light shot out of it, wiping out the dark monster.

Hikari: 1400/Ender: 2500

"You haven't won yet," Ender growled.

"I know," Hikari said taking a card from his hand and setting it face down. "Your move."

Ender grinned as he reached down to his deck as his hand started glowing purple. He drew his card and grinned. "Allure of Darkness," He said as he played the card and drew twice more. "And I'll remove my last Necro Gardna from play," he said as he put it in his pocket. "The time has come, I remove seven Dark Type Monsters from my graveyard and I special summon _**Rainbow Dark Dragon**_!" he called out as a large dark dragon came onto the field and growled loudly at the Splendid Venus. (4000/0)

"I knew you had something stronger," Hikari growled. "You haven't changed at all. This is your end game right?"

"They don't call me Ender for nothing," he grinned. "I've always got to finish it with a bang."

"Don't forget that it loses five hundred attack points," Hikari pointed out. (3500/0)

"Oh, but I'm not done yet, Rainbow Dark Dragon, use your ability!" the dark dragon began glowing as the souls of four Dark Monsters rushed out of Ender's Duel Disk and jumped into Rainbow Dark Dragon. (5500/0) "I can remove every dark monster in my graveyard in order to power up my dragon by five hundred attack points for each one removed. But before I attack, Heavy Storm!" A massive wind storm came through the field and blew away not only Vanhalla but Hikari's face down Mirror Force. "I knew it. Sorry but it looks like you didn't plan far enough in advance. Say hi to your father for me."

Hikari growled and looked at the last card in his hand.

"This duel is over! Rainbow Dark Dragon, attack with Rainbow Refraction!" Rainbow Dark Dragon began to power up a dark rainbow orb in its mouth.

"You're just like you always were," Hikari said sadly. "A cheater."

"Pardon me?" Ender asked.

"I knew even back then, you would stack your deck whenever we would play. You were always five turns ahead of me because you stacked your deck to win. These dark powers haven't changed that at all. If anything they've allowed you to draw whatever you want, whenever you want."

"I see you figured it out, too bad it's too late."

"It's fitting that you're playing with corrupted monsters, because that's exactly what these powers did to you, they corrupted you. You used to be a respectable scientist. My father always talked about how much of an honor it was working with you, however once you gained a taste of that dark power, it changed you."

"Maybe it did, maybe it didn't. It doesn't matter, because I'm the one in control. Rainbow Dark Dragon, attack!"

"You only think you're in control," Hikari said staring at him. "However now it's time to take you down!"

"What!" Ender growled.

"I knew you were cheating, so I planned my own end game, starting with the card I've been saving in my hand." He revealed his card to Ender. "I discard Honest from my hand. Since you're battling with a Light Type monster, it gains all the attack points of your Rainbow Dark Dragon." (8100/2300)

"No….that's impossible!" Ender growled.

"Splendid Venus, wipe out Rainbow Dark Dragon and put an end to this match." Splendid Venus rose up as its wings expanded and shined a bright light all around them. She pointed her staff at the dragon which fired its dark rainbow. A pure light was shot out from her staff. The two energies collided, but the pure light pushed the rainbow back. The dragon was hit with its own dark attack and the pure light. The dragon was destroyed as the rest of the light when on to strike down Ender. Ender was thrown back and crashed into the floor as a small metal container fell out of his breast pocket and slid across the floor. He screamed out in pain as his Life points fell to zero.

The attack ended, and Splendid Venus returned to Hikari's side of the field. "It's over, and honesty is victorious," Hikari said. "Everything you've ever told me, that wasn't specifically scientific, was a lie. Even the angel deck you gave me." Hikari walked over and picked up the metal container and opened it. Inside there was a card with the picture of a beautiful angel, her wings spread out beautifully, she seemed to glow with happiness. "You never gave me all of the Angel Cards."

"Could you blame me?" Ender asked coughing. "They're too valuable to give to an amateur like you."

"It would seem that the amateur just schooled you," Hikari grinned. He pulled out all the cards in the metal container and leafed through them momentarily. The last few cards caused him to stop. "These are…"

"A gift," Ender said chuckling. "From the Master. He told me give you those in case I failed, and to see exactly what you did with them. It'll be interesting to see how he handles them."

"I'll be sure to tell you while you're in jail," Hikari said.

"Be sure you do…" Ender couldn't finish. Black chains shot out from the shadow's below and pierced Ender through his heart.

"What the…?" Hikari gasped as Ender screamed in pain and vanished. The chains went for Hikari who rolled away just as the chains whipped the area Hikari was at. They came back after him, like a snake stalking its prey. "What are these?" he stuttered.

The chains gained on him. He jumped over them, like they were jump ropes, but got his foot caught on the very end. He called out in pain and landed on the ground. "The pain…" The chains made their way towards him once more, but Splendid Venus interrupted the attack with a blast of white magic. The chains rattled, and retreated back into the shadows, as the dark magic around them began to vanish. "I, owe you," Hikari said to Venus as she vanished with the shadows and he fell to the ground. Before he lost total consciousness, he heard footsteps, and the sound of Kaiba's voice ordering a medical team.

* * *

Ami: I just heard the news Kahou! Apparently Professor Hikari has been hurt! People say he's a bad guy, but that doesn't give anyone the right to hurt him.

Kahou: It's alright Ami, everything will be ok!

Ami: I'm worried, who would do such a thing?

Kahou: I don't know, but we'll find out…do, you want someone to hold you? Ami? Ami?

Ami: Isn't that that guy with the Toon Deck?

Ami: Next Time! Ami Vs. Denkiteki: Toon's Truth!

Kahou: Be careful Ami, if anything happened to you, I don't know what I'd do!

* * *

Kokuro: Today's featured card is Rainbow Dark Dragon, a very powerful monster that when played in just the right way in a Dark Deck, can be a game "Ender" in just a single shot!


End file.
